GOSPEL SERMONS. 



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THE METHOD OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT. 

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GOSPEL SERMONS. 



BY 

/ 

JAMES McCOSH, D.D., LL.D., LITT.D., 

lEi^resttjent of Princeton College. 

AUTHOR OF "METHOD OF DIVINE GOVERNMENT \ " 
INTUITIONS OF THE MIND INDUCTIVELY EXAMINED," ETC., ETC. 




NEW YORK: 

ROBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS, 
530 Broadway. 

1888. 




Copyright, 1888, 
By Robert Carter and Brothers. 



University Press : 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 



PREFACE. 



J JITHERTO my published works have been 
chiefly philosophical. But all along while 
I was lecturing and writing on philosophy I was 
also preaching. I am anxious that the public should 
know that much as I value philosophy, I place the 
gospel of Jesus Christ above it. 

My friends, the Carter Brothers, have asked me 
to give them some of my sermons for publication. 
Of the many discourses which I have delivered in 
Scotland, in Ulster, and to the students in Prince- 
ton College, I have selected those in which I have 
been enabled to proclaim most clearly the way of 
salvation. 

JAMES McCOSH. 

Princeton College, 

September, 1888. 



CONTENTS. 



Sermon Page 

I. The Lamb in the Midst of the Throne . 9 

II. The Way, the Truth, and the Life . . 30 

III. Faith and Repentance produced by the 

Spirit being poured forth 46 

IV. Nature of Faith and Repentance ... 65 

V. The Syrophenician Woman 81 

VI. Man's Tendency to trust in his own Right- 
eousness 101 

VII. The Relief afforded by Confession . . 113 

VIII. The Change produced by Faith in Jesus 132 

IX. The Offices of the Spirit 150 

X. Christian Humility illustrated in the 

Character of Paul ........ 165 

XI. The Sifting of Peter 178 

XII. The Royal Law of Love 199 

XIII. How to view our Fellow-men .... 220 

XIV. Waiting for God 241 

XV. The Lessons derived from the Plant . 259 

XVI. Growth in Grace illustrated in the Life 

of Nicodemus 278 

XVII. Moses' Dying Reflections on Mt. Pisgah 297 

XVIII. In the Resurrection Saints are as Angels 321 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 

I beheld, and lo ! in the midst of the throne, and of the four 
beasts (living creatures), and in the midst of the elders, stood a 
lamb as it had been slain. — Rev. v. 6. 

\17E learn from the first chapter of the Book of 



Revelation that the Apostle John, while an exile 
on the isle of Patmos, was carried up by the Spirit on 
the Lord's day into the immediate presence of God 
and the host of heaven. The visions which passed be- 
fore him were grander and more sublime than were 
ever portrayed by the pen of the poet or pencil of the 
painter. He sees an exalted and awful throne, sur- 
rounded by angels and saints and innumerable living 
and immortal beings; and he hears the music from 
the harp of angels mingling with the thunders issu- 
ing from the throne of God, and the very voice of 
the Almighty, as it were the voice of many waters. 
Having surveyed this scene for a time in mute as- 
tonishment, his attention is called — as we read in the 
beginning of this chapter — to a mysterious book, 
written on the back and sealed with seven seals; 




10 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



being evidently the book of God's decrees, contain- 
ing the evolutions of Providence and the wonders 
of redemption. A strong angel is heard asking with 
a loud voice which fills heaven and earth, Who is 
worthy to open this book? An awful pause ensues. 
No one in heaven or earth or throughout the wide 
universe is able for the task, and John weeps over the 
incapacity of the creation. While thus desponding, 
he is addressed by one of the elders who dwell near 
the throne, and is told of one able for the mighty work. 
He turns up his eyes to see ; and what does he behold? 
Is it a grand and imposing sight fitted to overpower 
and prostrate the mind? Is it a splendid throne or 
a dazzling light, or as he saw on another occasion the 
mightiest of the angels clothed with the sun? No; 
as he looks up he sees an image of gentleness and of 
meekness, of weakness and of death. The object 
presented in the very midst of the throne was a lamb, 
as it had been slain. " I beheld, and lo ! in the very 
midst of the throne stood a lamb as it had been slain." 

In this book the veil which separates the future 
from the past, the other world from this, is partially 
withdrawn, and we have shown to us a succession of 
views or pictures of the land that is afar off. Now, 
it is a noteworthy circumstance that in every one of 
these descriptions the same object is presented, — a 
lamb, and a lamb as it had been slain. In the verses 
immediately succeeding, when one who had inter- 
posed when no other was able for the work, took the 
book in order to open it, a company of the heavenly 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. II 

inhabitants, the four creatures of life, and the four and 
twenty elders, representing evidently the redeemed, fall 
down in adoration, and they fall down before the lamb. 
John hears the worship which they pay ; they ascribe 
praise to him, as one that had been slain. " Thou 
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy 
blood." Forthwith the whole angelic host join the 
anthem. " I beheld, and heard the voice of many 
angels round about the throne, and the living crea- 
tures ; and the number of them was ten thousand times 
ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; and they 
said with a loud voice, Worthy is the lamb that was 
slain to receive power and riches." The praise be- 
comes louder and still wider, till " every creature that 
is in heaven, and upon the earth, and under the earth, 
and which are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard 
I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, 
be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
lamb, for ever and ever." Again, in the seventh chap- 
ter the apostle obtains a lively view of the blessed 
inhabitants of heaven. " I beheld, and lo ! a great 
multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, 
and kindreds, and people, and tongues ; " and who are 
they? They stood before the throne and before the 
lamb. He hears their praise ; it is to the same blessed 
object, — " salvation to our God that sitteth upon the 
throne, and to the lamb." A question is put as to 
the past history of those who now stand in white 
robes and in the enjoyment of ineffable bliss, and 
it is answered that " they have washed their robes, 



12 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and made them white in the blood of the lamb." 
He sees them in the enjoyment of perfect happiness. 
" They hunger no more, neither thirst any more," 
and the reason, " because the lamb that is in the 
midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them 
unto living fountains of waters." In the fourteenth 
chapter, John looks, and lo ! a lamb stood on Mount 
Zion, and with him a great multitude harping with 
their harps; and who are they, and whence their joy? 
They are " they that follow the lamb whithersoever 
he goeth." In the twenty-first chapter we have a 
lengthened description of the holy city prepared for 
the saints. Its walls are of jasper, high and deep, 
with twelve foundations. The streets and dwellings 
are of pure gold, with a foundation of precious 
stones; its gates are pearls, and its watchmen are 
angels. But these do not separately or conjointly 
constitute the glory of heaven; its chief ornament 
is its temple, and " the Lord God Almighty and 
the lamb are the temple of it." These impart to it 
its chief grandeur and glory. " The city hath no 
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine on 
it: for the glory of God enlightens it, and the lamb 
is the light thereof." 

The question naturally presses upon us: Why, 
when we look up to heaven, do we find the same 
object pressed on us, — a lamb, and a lamb as it had 
been slain? Let us, in humble dependence on the 
Divine blessing, gather from the vision the lessons 
it is fitted to convey. 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 1 3 



I. 

The vision is set before us to remind us of 
the method of atonement ; it is by the blood of 
Jesus, as of a lamb without blemish and without 
spot. 

Amid all the error abounding in this world there 
are few or none so infatuated as to maintain that they 
have not committed sin. I take up the admission that 
sin has been committed, and I require an answer to 
the question, How is this sin to be forgiven? Most 
assuredly God has seen the sin, and he cannot see it 
without condemning it. How, then, is an offended 
God to be pacified? Sin is the violation of a law 
which all must acknowledge to be holy, just, and 
good. How is this law to be satisfied? The law, 
representing the law-giver, has pronounced its sen- 
tence. How is this sentence to be removed? Let 
us have a direct, a clear and satisfactory answer to 
these questions, — or rather to the question, for the 
question is one. 

By our repentance and reformation, may possibly 
be the reply. Let the sinner, you say, mourn over 
his sins and abandon them. Now, in regard to the 
view presented in this answer, it can be shown, in the 
first place, that down till such time as there is recon- 
ciliation with God and a work of grace upon the heart, 
there can be no genuine repentance, no godly reforma- 
tion. There may be feelings of remorse and regret; 



14 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



but these are not penitence. There may be conduct 
praiseworthy enough in itself; but when the law of 
God is brought to bear upon it, it will be found lament- 
ably defective in the nature of it, or the spirit and 
motives from which it springs. Waters will not gush 
out from the rock of our hearts till it is struck by 
the very power of God. But granting for the sake of 
argument that man could of himself wring out a true 
repentance, still it can be shown, in the second place, 
that there is nothing in that repentance to make 
atonement for past sin. Repentance, if thorough 
and spiritual, might stand for itself, but can make 
no atonement for the neglect of other duties which 
we acknowledge to be binding upon us. Let it be 
observed that repentance in many cases cannot re- 
pair the injury which the sin has entailed. In no 
case can it make any amends to the insulted justice 
of God. Can we conceive of God, the moral governor 
of the universe, and to be finally its judge, proclaim- 
ing throughout his boundless dominions that his 
creatures may break his commandments and inflict 
the direst evil, and continue to do so as long as 
they please, and that upon a simple profession of 
penitence all their offences will be instantly for- 
given ? It requires but a moment's reflection to 
discover that such a method of procedure were 
most unworthy of a holy God, and fitted to throw 
the universe into inextricable confusion. And how, 
then, I still ask, is this sin which you confess to be 
forgiven? 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 1 5 

Perhaps you now say that you trust in the mercy 
of God. The answer is nearer the truth; but if it 
goes no farther, it is still far distant from it. You 
trust, you say, in the mercy of God ; but how is this 
mercy to be exercised? Mercy is not the sole perfec- 
tion of God. Holiness which leads him to hate sin, 
justice by which he guards his law and supports his 
government, — these are as essential to his nature as 
benevolence. Nature itself teaches this, and shows in 
the works of God the storm as well as the calm, the 
lightning, swift emblem of his vengeance, as well as 
the sunshine, the symbol of his love ; decay and dis- 
ease, disappointment and death, scarcely less preva- 
lent than health and happiness. And when we go to 
the Word it tells us expressly that God " is of purer 
eyes than to behold evil ; " that " he cannot look on 
iniquity," and that " he will by no means clear the 
guilty." How, then, can God be just, and yet the jus- 
tifier of the ungodly? Human reason can give no in- 
telligent, no satisfactory answer to this question. All 
investigations only conduct into ever-thickening dark- 
ness and gloom, in which fears and doubts have their 
appropriate dwelling-place. Who is worthy to open 
this sealed book and unfold this mystery? When this 
question is put, all creation is perplexed and silent. 
" The depth saith It is not in me." Reason acknowl- 
edges that the problem is too high for it to solve. 
The thoughtful mind is not satisfied till it hears God 
himself proclaim, " Deliver him from going down to 
the pit, for I have found a ransom." The anxious 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



spirit would weep like John till such time as it sees 
the Lion of the tribe of Judah take the book and 
break the seals. The mind feels that it has nothing 
to rest on ; no truth on which the understanding can 
settle and the heart repose, till such time as it sees 
" a lamb as it had been slain, in the very midst of 
the throne of God." 

It is under this aspect that God is presented to the 
sinner everywhere throughout the Scriptures as a 
holy God, extending mercy to sinners through the 
sufferings of his Son. In the first promise to fallen 
man, the seed of the woman who was to put his heel 
on the head of the serpent is described as having his 
heel bruised as he does so. In the first worship of 
fallen man there is the offering of a bleeding lamb. 
You might have discovered the wandering path of 
the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by the 
altars which they built and the smoke of the sacri- 
fices which they offered. Under the law, almost all 
things were purified by blood. The grand object 
presented in the New Testament is a bleeding Saviour 
suspended upon the cross. It is thus the same view 
that is presented to us under the patriarchal, the Jew- 
ish, and the Christian dispensations. Except in the 
degree of development; there is no difference between 
God as revealed in Eden, in Sinai, and on Calvary; 
between God as described in the books of Moses, 
and God as described so many centuries later in the 
writings of Paul and of John. In the garden we have 
the law given, and indications, too, of one coming to 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 1 7 

deliver from the penalty. On Mount Sinai there is 
a law delivered amid thunderings and lightnings, but 
also ordinances which tell of an atonement for sin. 
In the mysterious transactions on Calvary there is an 
awful forsaking and a fearful darkness, emblematic of 
the righteousness and indignation of God, as well as a 
melting tenderness in the words of our Lord breath- 
ing forgiveness and love, and telling of an opened 
paradise : " To-day thou shalt be with me in para- 
dise." The first book of Scripture discloses to us, 
near its commencement, a worshipper offering a lamb 
in sacrifice ; and the last shows a lamb as it had been 
slain, in the midst of the throne of God. 

Taking the views thus presented to us in the volume 
of the Word, we cannot look up to heaven without 
discovering this significant object, showing that there 
is infinite mercy in God, and reminding us of the 
way in which this mercy is dispensed. With such a 
prospect, no sinner need despair, for that lamb was 
slain for sinners ; and with such a prospect, no saint 
dare be proud or presumptuous, for it is through the 
sufferings of that lamb that the saint has attained 
his privileges. The object is represented as placed 
in the very midst of the throne of God, that man 
may never look up to heaven without seeing it; 
and that the saint on earth may join the saint in 
heaven in ascribing the glory of their salvation to 
him that sitteth on the throne, and to the lamb that 
was slain. 

2 



i8 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



II. 

The vision is set before us to remind us of the 
character of Jesus, of his meekness and gentleness, 
so fitted to win the human heart. 

Under the former head, assuming that all men have 
sinned, I put the question, How is this sin to be for- 
given? Under this head I assume a corresponding 
fact and put a corresponding question. Assuming 
what no one who is acquainted with his own heart 
will deny, that man is alienated from God, I ask, How 
is his heart to be won? The question under the last 
head was, How is God to be reconciled to man? The 
question under this head is, How is man to be recon- 
ciled to God? How is his confidence to be won and 
his heart engaged? 

First, I remark that in order to the gaining of the 
feelings of the heart it is needful that the conscience 
be pacified. A troubled conscience always leads the 
mind to avoid, as if instinctively, the remembrance of 
the party offended. Having given offence to God, 
our inclination would be to avoid him ; at times to 
flee from him, as Cain did, as Jonah did, from the 
presence of the Lord. There cannot be true and 
filial love in a mind in which conscience has not been 
appeased, nor can there be any of those allied graces, 
such as faith and confidence, hope and joy, which 
ought to fill and animate the soul. The appeasing 
of the conscience is an indispensable preliminary to 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 1 9 

the flowing out of the affections towards God. Not 
only so, but in order to gain the heart there must be 
a free, a full, and an instant forgiveness. It must be 
free ; for it cannot be purchased or earned by us. It 
must be full ; for if anything were left unforgiven, the 
conscience would still reproach, and the soul would so 
far be in a state of irritation, enmity, and rebellion. 
It must be instant ; otherwise the mind, still without 
peace, would not be disposed to confidence and af- 
fection. Nothing short of this will allay its tossings 
and its waves, and allow the image of God, who is 
love, to be reflected on the bosom. 

Besides the instinctive aversion which it excites 
towards God, an evil conscience must ever — it may 
be unconsciously — be a source of irritation; and 
when the soul is not at peace with God it cannot 
be at peace with itself. Instead of love, peace, and 
trust, there will be divers lusts and passions raging 
fiercely and uncontrolled. We say, " Peace, peace ! 
but there is no peace." How can there be peace when 
the soul is not at peace with its Maker? When the 
waves of the ocean are raging, how are we to subdue 
them? We may try to do this by commanding them, 
only to find that they do not obey us any more than 
they did Canute ; but let the winds of heaven cease, 
and there will soon be a calm. So let God be paci- 
fied towards us, let him say, " Thy sins be forgiven 
thee," showing that his anger is turned away, then 
the conscience ceases to lash, and the thoughts and 
feelings compose themselves into quiet and assur- 



20 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



ance, — as when the winds of heaven are stilled, the 
waves of the ocean do rock themselves to rest. 

Observe how all this is secured in the very view 
here presented to our faith. The lamb, the image 
of gentleness, in the very midst of the throne, shows 
that God is pacified, and the blood that flows from it 
proves that this has been done in strict accordance 
with justice. The conscience, the law in the heart, 
is satisfied, for God himself, the law-giver, is satisfied. 
The believer, as he looks to the object set up, can 
say, "It is God that justifieth; who is he that 
condemneth? " 

But secondly, in order to gain the heart there 
must be a lovely object presented to it. Such an 
object is presented in Jesus, a lamb as it had been 
slain. 

The character of our Lord, set forth as an object 
on which the faith and affection of mankind may rest, 
has in itself everything that is grand and attractive. 
Just as there is a beauty of shape and color that 
pleases the eye, and a sweetness of sound that de- 
lights the ear, so there is a moral loveliness that 
should draw towards it the affections of the soul. But 
here, in the character of God set forth in the face of 
his Son, we have all kinds of beauty meeting and har- 
moniously blending. The excellences to be found 
partially in the creature, being the reflections of his 
perfections, all meet and are infinite in Him. And 
there is that in the person and character of the ob- 
ject displayed to our contemplation and love which 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 21 

endears him yet more to the heart. There is some- 
thing in the very idea of an infinite God that is cal- 
culated to overawe and overpower the spirit of weak 
and sinful man. In every age of the world's history 
man has been afraid to look on the dazzling purity of 
God. Pained by the contemplation, he has been at 
infinite pains to carnalize a spiritual God and to em- 
body him. in symbol: in brute symbol among the 
ancient Egyptians, or in the more powerful works of 
inanimate nature, the sun, moon, and stars, as among 
the Persians, and in an image made with hands among 
the Greeks and Romans. Man has ever been carnal- 
izing God and thereby degrading him ; but here is a 
God incarnate without being degraded. In the Medi- 
ator the divine and human natures are united in such 
a manner that the one does not destroy or overpower 
the other, but each retains its own properties, while 
the whole is a unity. The brightness of the Father's 
glory, without being shorn of a single ray, is seen in 
Christ under a milder lustre. Coldness and indif- 
ference are dispelled when we think that in drawing 
near to Jesus it is man coming to man. Unbelief 
vanishes when we realize that we have a brothers 
heart beating for us on the throne of glory. 

While our hearts are naturally drawn by sentiments 
and sympathies towards every brother man, there are 
certain men or classes of men towards whom we are 
attracted with greater force ; as for instance towards 
all whose sensibilities are quick and whose feelings 
are tender. And if the persons have themselves 



22 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



been in trouble, if their heart has been melted and 
softened by fiery trial, our hearts go towards them 
in yet fuller assurance. Disposed at all times to love 
such, we are especially drawn towards them when we 
ourselves are in trouble. Whoever may feel for us, 
we are sure they will feel for us; and we pour our 
complaints into their ears in the certainty of meeting 
with a hearing ear and a sympathetic heart. 

It is by this attracting power that believers are 
drawn so closely to their Saviour. The brotherliness 
of his human nature as well as the holy love of his 
divine nature are brought out before us in almost 
every incident of his life. We recollect how he fed 
the hungry and healed all manner of diseases ; how 
he restored the young man whose dead body was 
being carried out of the gates of the city of Nain to 
the embraces of his widowed mother, and wept over 
the grave of Lazarus ; and we run to him as one 
ready to feel for us under all our trials. We remem- 
ber how he was acquainted with grief, in its multiplied 
and diversified forms in body and in spirit, inflicted 
by man and by God ; how he was often an hungered, 
without home or where to lay his head; how the 
tongue of calumny was raised against him, and the 
finger of scorn pointed at him ; how the favors he 
conferred were met by no corresponding gratitude ; 
how an apostle betrayed him, and the rulers of his 
country condemned him ; and the people with loud 
voice demanded his crucifixion, wagged their heads, 
and reviled him in the midst of his dying agonies ; 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 23 

and when we think of this we feel that there is 
no sorrow of ours which he will not commiserate. 
The friendless rejoice, for they have a friend in 
him. The helpless take courage ; their help is in him. 
The forsaken lift up their head and are comforted in 
communion with him who was himself forsaken. 

Every one acquainted with man's nature knows 
that if his heart is gained it must be gained by love. 
It must be by presenting a loving object. Such is 
the loving object set before us, — a lamb as it had 
been slain, presented to the faith of the sinner that 
his heart through grace may be won and fixed 
forever. 

III. 

The vision is set before us to remind us that Jesus 
is the grand source of joy to the saints in heaven. 
" The lamb that is in the midst of the throne feeds 
them," and " they follow the lamb whithersoever he 
goeth." 

It is the view of Christ crucified, of the lamb as 
slain, that first gains the heart of the sinner. It is a 
view fitted to satisfy the soul, and the whole soul. It 
satisfies the conscience, for it exhibits God as satisfied 
by the atonement offered ; and it satisfies the heart, 
for it discloses an object infinitely lovely in itself, and 
fitted to call forth the deepest and tenderest feelings. 

As it was a view of this object that first gained the 
heart of the sinner, so it is a view of the same object 
seen in the visions of faith that continues to keep 



24 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and fix his regards. The faith that saves does not 
consist of a single glance; "looking unto Jesus" is 
the habitual attitude of the believer's soul. It is so 
far as he keeps his eye on this object that he has 
steadfastness and perseverance in the journey; and 
it is most interesting and encouraging to find that 
the object which first allured his heart when it was 
so wayward, and which fixed it, and thereby gave 
him constancy and consistency, reappears once more 
in heaven itself, to engage and satisfy the soul through- 
out eternity. That very light which so cheered the 
wanderer in the darkness, and gave him courage when 
he was ready to lie down and perish, is light that 
streams from his Father's house and his own home in 
heaven, and in which he is to rejoice forever. Death 
does no violence to such a one ; it produces no break 
in his feelings and affections; it may separate him 
from some of the objects which he loves, but it draws 
him to the object which he mainly loves, which he 
loves with all his heart. It is indeed delightful to 
the believer to think that the friend who first visited 
him in his lost estate, and who guided him all the 
way through the wilderness, is the friend he is to 
meet with in the mansions above. Led to love the 
lamb of God when on earth, trained by the spirit of 
God and by all the dispensations of God to love him 
more and more, he finds when he has crossed the 
dark valley of the shadow of death that the first 
object that meets his eye, and the most conspicuous, 
is a lamb as it had been slain. 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 25 

But we cannot utter that which is unutterable, or 
describe that which is indescribable ; and so we can- 
not picture or so much as conceive of that joy un- 
speakable and full of glory which the believer feels 
on his first entering into the presence of his Saviour, 
and which he is to enjoy forever. The Word of God 
does not furnish us with any particular account of 
the holy exercises and joys of heaven, and for this 
silence two very excellent reasons can be given. 
One is that a vivid description of the felicities of 
heaven as fascinating the fancy might rather draw 
away the mind from the practical duties of life ; and 
the other, that the enjoyments are such that man in 
his present state cannot so much as conceive them. 
Enough is revealed, however, to show that the lamb 
slain is to be the grand source of the happiness of 
the saints. 

True, there will be enjoyments not flowing so 
directly, though still proceeding indirectly from him. 
There will be joys springing from the holy affections 
of confidence and love, which Christ by his spirit plants 
in the breasts of his people. These graces, flowing, 
overflowing, and ever increasing, will be a source of 
great and ever-deepening happiness throughout eter- 
nity. Again, there will be joys springing from the 
glorious society of heaven, from the company of 
saints and angels. Brethren in Christ, you are even 
now walking on the very road on which all the men 
of God have travelled, from the creation downwards ; 
and at its termination you will meet with all those 



26 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



who come from the east and from the west, from the 
north and the south, to sit down in the kingdom of 
God. They are out of every kindred, but they have 
all been made sons of God by adoption ; out of every 
tongue, but they all unite with melody of voice and 
heart to sing praises to the Redeemer ; out of every 
people, but now all kings and priests reigning under 
God and his anointed ; out of every nation, but now 
all brought into the heavenly Canaan. Here you 
will meet with all the great and good who have 
lived from the time of the creation downwards. Are 
there times when you could have wished to converse 
with the patriarchs and prophets and others, the 
men of God who lived in divers ages? My friends, 
they have all met in the presence of God and of the 
lamb. Where else could you expect to meet them 
but at the fountains of wisdom and of grace? There 
Enoch, translated, still walks with God, but in closer 
fellowship. There Noah, escaped from a greater del- 
uge than the deluge of waters, — the deluge of sin and 
death, — through Christ as the ark which God has 
provided, walks abroad on a new earth, and beholds 
a new heaven wherein dwelleth righteousness. There 
Abraham hath reached that city towards which he 
was all along travelling ; and believers when they die 
are carried into Abraham's bosom. There Moses 
converses face to face with God, not in clouds and 
darkness as on Sinai's top, but in the sunshine of a 
better land than that which he was not allowed to 
visit when on earth. There the sweet psalmist of 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 27 

Israel is one of the choir of the redeemed, and joins 
his harp with the harp of angels. Or do you delight 
more to dwell on the characters of the apostles, or 
those who lived in New Testament times? There 
Paul, no longer in vision but in reality caught up 
into the third heavens, hears unspeakable words which 
it is not possible for man to utter, and dwells in the 
light of God, — not like the light which shone around 
him on the way to Damascus, but the light of God's 
countenance in which he rejoices forever. Here, too, 
the disciple of love may still lean on the bosom of 
Jesus and look up and behold him, not as he saw 
him on the cross, his face more marred than that 
of any man, but now glorified in heaven; and, no 
longer in mere vision, as at Patmos, behold the lamb 
as it had been slain, in the very midst of the throne 
of God. " Ye are come unto Mount Zion and unto 
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 
and an innumerable company of angels, and to the 
general assembly and church of the first-born, which 
are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, 
and to the spirits of just men made perfect." But 
here also, and above all and more precious, " ye are 
come to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant." 
The question has often been asked, Where is heaven ? 
We may not be able to answer it geographically, 
but we can answer it truly. It is where Jesus is. 
"Where I am, there ye shall be also." 

1. A man must be born again before he can enter 
the kingdom of God. The supposition has often 



28 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



been put that the unconverted sinner be taken to 
heaven. Would he feel any comfort there, any 
desire to remain there? The very happiness that 
reigns there would, I believe, only impress him the 
more with his own misery ; the holiness would be as 
painful to behold, as to gaze forever upon the full 
radiance of the noonday sun. Carry an unconverted 
sinner there, and I believe he would flee out of it, as 
of all places to him the most intolerable. 

2. Oh that I had but lived in the days when Jesus 
sojourned on the earth ! is the wish that will some- 
times rise up in our breasts. Oh that I had but seen 
his sacred person ! Oh, that I had but heard his 
gracious words ! I would have followed him where- 
ever he went; and then how blessed like Mary to 
sit at his feet and receive instruction from his lips ! 
Ah, my friends, it may possibly be that these wishes 
and feelings resemble too much those of the Jews 
who lived in the days when Jesus was upon the 
earth. They declared that if they had lived in the 
days of their fathers they would not have been guilty 
with them of the blood of the prophets. They gar- 
nished the tombs of the departed prophets, and they 
put to death a living prophet greater than them all. 
But these wishes, if proceeding from a sincere and 
sanctified heart, may yet be gratified. He who was 
dead is alive, and behold he liveth forevermore. As 
he was on earth, so is he now in heaven, as gentle, 
as loving as when he was curing the maladies of 
those who called on him, and comforting those who 



THE LAMB IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE. 29 

mourned ; as full of sympathy as when he wept over 
the grave of Lazarus. Believers cherish the hope 
that they will be carried not in momentary vision, 
but in very truth, to that blessed place of which 
John had but a passing glimpse, and behold forever 
in the very midst of the throne a lamb as it had 
been slain. 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 



Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the 
life. — John xiv. 6. 

I "VERY Christian knows that he is saved through 



-■ — ' Christ. But it behooves the believer to look 
to the full Christ as he is revealed to us, and not to 
view him exclusively under one aspect. Science tells 
us that there are three elements in light, — the illu- 
minating power, the chemical power, and the heat 
power. So in him who is " the Light of the World " 
there is a threefold perfection. He here presents 
himself full-orbed : "I am the way, the truth, and 
the life." Let us look to him first under these 
three aspects separately, and secondly as combining 
them. 



i. Christ the Way. — One of the deepest feelings 
in man's nature is a sense of want, — a want of 
something which this world is found not to supply. 
Ah, worldling, you feel that there is something un- 
satisfying in these very comforts and enjoyments of 
yours. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the 




I. 



THE TRUTHS SEPARATELY. 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 3 1 

ear with hearing, nor the ambition with success, nor 
the lust with gratification. Ay, there is something 
wanting, and you know it; you feel it at times, though 
you may not yet know what it is that would fill the 
void. 

It arises from sin, — no doubt of that, — from the 
terrible disruptions with the intervening chasms which 
sin has produced. But it can scarcely be called a 
sense of sin except at tempestuous times when the 
conscience arouses us as the heathen mariners did 
Jonah: " Arise, thou sleeper, and call upon thy 
God." And this awakening is apt to be only tem- 
porary, and we demand a little more sleep, a little 
more slumber, to find, however, that it is not the 
sleep which God gives his beloved, but a broken 
sleep with troubled dreams, and wakings up ever 
and anon, which make us long for unbroken rest 
without finding it. 

What man especially needs to know is a way, — a 
way of access to the Father. " Show us the Father," 
said Philip ; for it is natural to man to have some ap- 
prehension of God. Man is, alas ! naturally a sinner ; 
he is by nature practically ungodly, but he is not 
naturally an atheist. I enter here into no disputed 
philosphical speculations as to whether the idea of 
God is or is not innate. What I maintain is, that, de- 
spite our downward tendencies, man is led by what 
he feels within, and by what he sees around him, to 
look up to a Divine Power. The conscience within, 
telling us of a law and pointing to a law-giver; the 



32 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



marks of order, beauty, and design in earth and sky, 
in plant and animal; the traces of providence and 
government, the encouragements to what is good 
and the penalties attached to evil, in the providence 
of God, — all these lead and constrain man to form 
some idea, some hope or fear or faith, in regard to a 
Supernatural Being. That Being we would fondly 
claim as a Father. But where is that Father? How 
can we know the way? "Show us the Father, and it 
sufficeth us." The belief may be vague, the longing 
indefinite, — " an infant crying in the night," when 
its mother is gone, because it wants it knows not 
what; the want is positive, the object it cries for un- 
known, but there is a terrible cry for it when at 
any time it awakes. 

The feeling is for something wanting, — something 
which has been lost. Man feels as if he had wan- 
dered. " I have gone astray like a lost sheep." There 
must be a way — no doubt of it — to the Father, but 
how can we know the way? There is a way, but 
somehow we have lost it, and the difficulty is to 
find it ; and when at any time we have found a track 
on this world's surface and set out on it, we are soon 
made to feel that it is not the right one, as it leads 
to no satisfactory termination. " They wandered in 
the wilderness in a solitary way ; they found no city 
to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in 
them." Conceive a revolving planet or a shining 
sun wandering from its sphere up there in that sky 
where " order is heaven's first law." Now it is hin- 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 33 

dered and stayed by bodies attracting it or attracted 
by it, and forthwith it dashes through space, threat- 
ening to strike and break in fragments or to kindle 
into a conflagration all the other planets and suns it 
meets with. It is a picture of a wandering angel ; it is 
a picture of a wandering man loosened from the Cen- 
tral Power that stays him, and from the Central Light 
that should illuminate him, — now restrained, sluggish, 
and slothful, and anon dancing along in perilous or 
destructive paths, — now in darkness, and again in 
light that blinds and bewilders, or among fires that 
consume. That wandering body up in the heavens 
would not right itself till brought back to its old 
position and made to move in its old path. That 
wandering sinner on earth will never right himself 
till brought back to his old relation to God, and 
is moving round him as a centre illuminated by his 
beams. 

But how can we know the way? The flaming 
sword turned every way to keep the sinner from the 
tree of life ; but that sword has entered into him who 
is God's fellow, and hath now no power against us, 
and there is a way opened by which the sinner can 
come into the very presence of God. " I am the 
way." 

2. Christ the Truth. — By truth, in this passage, 
we are not to understand abstract or general doctrine, 
such as we have in our excellent Catechisms and 
Confessions of Faith. Such systematized truth being 
a comprehensive summary of the statements of God's 

3 



34 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Word, may serve most important purposes in exhibit- 
ing the unity of the truth, in guiding the thoughts of 
the young and of inquirers generally, and in testing 
soundness in the faith; but it is not to such that our 
Lord refers when he says, " I am the truth." 

Truth is defined by philosophers as the agreement 
of our ideas with things. When in any particular 
matter our views correspond to realities in that mat- 
ter, we have truth. If we know God as he really is, 
then have we truth in religion. But how can we 
know God as he really is? When apart from Christ 
we would set out in search of him, how difficult to 
find him ! Do we not feel as if he were at an infinite 
distance, as if he were at an awful distance above us, 
and beyond our reach ; as if we could no more rise 
to him with our spirits than our frail bodies could 
mount from earth to heaven? Who w T ill give us wings 
that we may ascend to him ? Alas ! the attraction of 
earth is too powerful to admit of our rising to him. 
Who, then, will go up to heaven to bring him down to 
us? As we make these searches and efforts we will 
soon find that they are all in vain. The approach 
must be on his part. The grandest thinker of all 
heathen antiquity (Plato) was obliged to say : " The 
father of the world is hard to discover, and when dis- 
covered cannot be communicated." " Show us the 
Father, and it sufficeth us." Blessed be his eternal 
love and grace, the Father hath shown himself to 
us. Jesus saith to him who put the question, " Have 
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 35 

seen me, Philip ? he that hath seen me hath seen the 
Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the 
Father." When we go on by Christ as the way, he 
introduces us to the Father, and we have the truth. 
Here is the bridge that spans the chasm. Here is 
the link that joins the sundered parts. 

"What is truth?" was the question put by Pilate 
to our Lord. It is usually said that Jesus did not 
give a reply. He may not have answered him in 
words, but he answered him in fact. The truth was 
before him if he had but known the gift of God, and 
who it was that was speaking to him. For when we 
know Christ we know God. " He that hath seen 
me hath seen the Father." God is no longer at a 
distance ; he is brought nigh, — Emmanuel, God 
with us. 

The great philosopher Aristotle has said that the 
mind is organized for truth; as it came from its 
Maker it is organized for truth, as the eye is to per- 
ceive light and the ear to hear sounds. He who 
has found Christ knows that he has found the truth. 
With the truth there is assurance ; the eye has found 
the light, the ear is listening to the sound. This, 
this is the reality of things. " I have found," " I have 
found," is the outburst and expression of the soul as 
it feels it has got what it has been seeking, and is 
satisfied. 

God being put in his place, all other truth is put 
in its right place, in the creed and in the heart. For 
long ages scientific men, in constructing a theory of 



36 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



the world, placed the earth in the centre, and the 
whole system became in consequence confused, and 
ever more hopelessly confused. It was not till the 
sun was put in his proper place in the centre, that 
order and simplicity were seen to reign in the mun- 
dane system. As long as we make the earth and 
man the centre of the moral world, everything is in 
hopeless confusion. Give Christ the central place in 
our creed, and we have the truth with all its clear- 
ness, its certainty, and assurance. Give Christ the 
proper place in the heart, and we shall find that as 
we revolve round him we are kept in our proper 
spheres, and are illuminated and warmed by his 
beams. 

3. Christ the Life. — It is of vast moment that 
we know the way, all good that we reach the truth ; 
but we must have more. The well-formed statue 
is an interesting object, but none of us would ex- 
change our living condition for that of the chiselled 
marble which stands so cold and stiff on its pedestal. 
God's work was not half finished when he fashioned 
that goodly frame of ours out of the dust of the 
ground ; it was not completed till he breathed into 
man the breath of life and he became a living soul. 
Along with the truth we must have life. 

A living poet describes one of his characters as 
dead and buried under the streets of a city, and yet 
— inconsistent enough, I grant — hearing above him 
the clattering sounds which will not allow him the 
rest of the dead. It is a picture of not a few sinners, 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 37 

perhaps of all sinners at certain times. They would 
have and yet they cannot have the insensibility of 
the dead. And so, since he cannot have absolute 
unconsciousness, he would have life. Yes, there are 
few or none so dead that they do not wish at times 
to have life. And yet when they would excite and 
stimulate it, they find that they have only the cold 
and the clamminess of death. They would mount up 
like a balloon into a higher and purer region, only 
to find that they are in thin air which will not sup- 
port them; and in chill and in emptiness they find 
that they must descend if they would avoid a col- 
lapse and a fall. They would at times struggle like 
a strong swimmer thrown on the rude waves only 
to find himself hopelessly sinking. All their con- 
vulsive efforts are merely like those of the priests of 
Baal on Mount Carmel, when they beat their breasts 
and cut their bodies only to find their sacrifices 
lying cold upon the altar. Alas! there are some of 
whom we expected that they should have gone for- 
ward, but they have looked back, like Lot's wife, and 
now they seem as if they had been turned into 
a pillar of salt, they look so rigid, so cold and 
motionless. 

Feeling never will be excited in the bosom of any 
one by a mere command, by a mere determination 
to raise it. There must be a something to call it 
forth ; there must be an object to call it forth ; there 
must be an object looked to and apprehended to 
call it forth. Nor will it be evoked by an abstract 



38 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



statement or general doctrine. It is called forth by 
a person, by an individual person, by a living per- 
son. There is such an object to call forth feeling, — 
in Christ, so lovely and so loving. Apprehended as 
the truth he becomes the life, — the life in the soul, 
the life of the soul. 

The truth and the life: these are closely and in- 
dissolubly connected. The truth believed in is life, 
and there can be no spiritual life without an appre- 
hension of Christ, the Truth. But we are to beware 
of sundering the truth and the life ; still more are 
we to beware of separating Christ from either the 
truth or the life. Christ apprehended as the truth 
becomes the life. He becomes so by his spirit dwell- 
ing in us, — the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of life. 
Being united to him by faith in him, as the branch 
is united to the vine, the life that is in him flows into 
us and circulates in us, and we become members of 
his body. This life, this bursting life within, will 
find an outlet, it will go out in deeds of faith and 
love. It will prompt us to do good, as God may 
give opportunity, to all men, — to Jew and Gentile, 
to Christian and heathen, to the outcast at home 
and the pagan abroad. 

II. 

THE TRUTHS IN THEIR CONNECTION. 

The full truth is to be found in the union of these 
various truths; not in their mere conglomeration, 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 39 

but in their proper union, in which each has its 
proper place. 

If we would have a true religion, and a proper 
theology founded upon it, we must not only give 
Christ a place, — we must give him the supreme 
place, all else being subordinate to him. He must 
not only be in the building as a stone, he must be 
the corner-stone, in order to have a sure foundation. 
He must not only be in the arch, he must be the 
keystone, to keep all the parts fitly joined together, 
and thus bear up the weight to be laid upon it. 

When each has its proper place, Christ is the head 
and other things the members. Displace Christ the 
head from this his proper position, and the whole 
form becomes disproportioned, — like those fabulous 
persons who were supposed by the ancients to be 
found somewhere on the earth's surface with their 
heads under their arms. 

There are some who would have men first to find 
the way, and then in the way to find Christ. But 
Christ is himself the way. " I am the way ; " " Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. " 
Some put the Church before Christ, and would have 
inquirers first to find the true church, and then 
through it to find Christ. But this is to reverse 
the proper and scriptural order. Let us first seek 
Christ ; and when we have found Christ we are in 
the true church invisible, and in his pure light we 
shall be able to discern the proper church visible. 
That is the true church which makes Christ the head, 



40 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



" from which, all the body by joints and bands hav- 
ing nourishment ministered, and knit together, in- 
creaseth with the increase of God." 

Some there are who would have us first seek the 
truth, and then seek Christ ; and by all means let those 
who have not yet had Christ be exhorted to seek the 
truth. Yes, seekers of truth deserve all the honor 
that has been paid to them. There are too few sin- 
cere seekers of truth among us. Sincere and prayer- 
ful seekers of truth will sooner or later reach what 
they are seeking. But seekers of truth will never 
find truth in religion till they find Christ. So Justin 
Martyr acknowleged, in the early Church, after going 
the round of all the philosophies of Greece. So the 
great Augustine found, after seeking in vain for wis- 
dom and happiness in such varied quarters. So 
Luther was made to feel, when, after trying the acts 
of will-worship recommended by the Church, he found 
all to be fruitless of peace. Let us not go out with 
the tapers of earth to seek the sun; the sun is 
shining in the heavens, and is seen in his own light. 
Any other light can at best be merely like the star 
raised in the heavens to guide the wise men of the 
East, serving a good end only so far as it guides us 
to where Christ as the truth is to be found. 

Again, some would find life without Christ. There 
is a general feeling in the present day among all the 
churches, that we must have life, religious life. Even 
Socinians, in some places, profess to be seeking a re- 
vival. But there are some seeking for it apart from 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 4 1 

Christ. Their appeal is to inward feelings, sentiments, 
and intuitions. But what, I ask, is to evoke such sen- 
timents from our dead and sinful hearts? There must 
be an object to call them forth; there must be a 
living being to draw them towards himself. That 
being is Christ, as he presents himself in all his love- 
liness and attractiveness. But they tell us that this 
affection may be called out by such grand and gen- 
erous ideas as the infinite and the eternal. I admit 
that there are such ideas, and I am opposed to that 
philosophy of the day which makes them mere nega- 
tions ; but these ideas call forth love only when they 
are associated with a living being whose love is 
infinite, whose love is eternal. 

There are some who would seek for Christ under 
one of these aspects or in one of these characters, 
but who do not care for the others. Thus, there are 
some who are anxious to have Christ as the way, but 
who stop at the entrance, instead of going on in the 
path which has been opened. This is a temptation 
to which some are exposed in days of revival. They 
are most anxious to have Christ for salvation ; but 
having found the Saviour, as they think, and peace 
and assurance, they feel as if they required no more, 
and they do not go on to stablish themselves in the 
truth. Some of these are apt to become teachers 
when they should still be scholars. How wise the 
warning of the Apostle, who, in describing the 
qualifications of teachers, says they should not be 
"novices," lest, being puffed up with pride, they fall 



42 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



into the condemnation of the Devil! What those 
who are born from above need is training, and a 
settling in the truth ; and being taught themselves, 
they will be ready to teach others. 

Again, some are contented with the truth without 
the life. They are satisfied with their orthodox 
creed, with their reverence for the Bible, with their 
attendance at the house of God and at religious 
meetings. This it is that gives a pretext to the ene- 
mies of evangelical religion when they declare that 
religious professors are no better than others, and to 
affirm that if Christ were among us he would address 
ministers and people as " Scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites." Such a formal religion is offensive to 
man, even as it is displeasing to God. " Ye are the 
salt of the earth : but if the salt have lost its savour, 
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good 
for nothing, but to be cast out, and trodden under 
foot of men." 

Again, there is a very different class, who seek the 
life without the truth. Some are led into this by a 
reaction against a stiff formalism or a frigid ortho- 
doxy. In other cases it proceeds from an unwill- 
ingness to submit to any restraints. We have an 
attempt to realize such an idea and to carry out such 
a project in this country in our day. Persons are 
calling for a life which is to be independent of all the 
old forms of orthodoxy and of the letter of the Word 
of God. But I, for one, do not feel that I am called 
on to fight for the additions which men have made to 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 43 

divine truth. There is a curse pronounced at the close 
of the Bible against those who would add to it. " For 
I testify to every man that heareth the words of the 
prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto 
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues 
that are written in this book." But there is also a 
curse ready to alight on those who would diminish 
aught from that Word. "If any man shall take away 
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God 
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and 
out of the holy city, and from the things which are 
written in this book/' Of this I am sure, that the life 
which is not supported by scriptural truth will be 
of a very uncertain and wavering and transient char- 
acter. By all means let us have the fire, and the 
flame too. But no fire can be kept up and sus- 
tained without a solid material: that solid material 
is the truth of God's Word. 

We may now consider these truths specially in 
their practical connection. And here, as in regard 
to doctrinal belief, let us not put asunder what the 
Lord hath indissolubly joined together. The gar- 
ment which falls to our lot is woven throughout 
and without seam, and cannot be divided. That 
garment is Christ's, and becomes ours through his 
sufferings and death. 

Jesus was so called from his birth, because he 
saves his people from their sins. The work is his 
throughout. Let us consider how much is involved 



44 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



in this salvation. Let us look to him for pardon, — 
by all means for pardon, for it is to be found no- 
where else. But this is not all that is involved in 
salvation; he is Jesus, so called, not only because 
he saves from the consequences of sin, but be- 
cause he saves from the sins themselves. 

If I am to have the love of the world and of 
the things that are in the world subdued, it must 
be by having my heart fixed on a new object which 
I love more dearly; it must be by Christ becoming 
the supreme object of affection. No man was ever 
yet saved from his sins by merely striving with them. 
Alas ! many brave men have been defeated in the 
fight, and have been merely exasperated by the 
struggle, as the prisoner is chafed in beating upon 
the walls of his prison from which there is no 
escape; as the eagle is irritated by dashing upon 
its cage; as the sea is lashed into foam by being 
driven upon the rocks. " Sin, taking occasion by 
the commandment, wrought in me all manner of 
concupiscence." " When the commandment came, 
sin revived, and I died." " Sin, taking occasion by 
the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me." 
It is when I am led to love Christ that I am delivered 
from that selfishness which is so deeply seated in the 
soul, and which so cleaves to me. It was when the 
ark of the covenant was put into the temple of Dagon 
that the idol fell down, and it was as it continued 
there, that all attempts to raise him up failed, and 
he became more crushed and broken. And it is thus 



THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 45 

that these idols of ours are cast down before the 
presence and power of Jesus as he condescends to 
enter our hearts. This is the pearl of great price, 
which, when a man hears of, he sells all that he has, 
all worldly lusts and passions, that he may have it, 
and he feels that he is rich when he has such a pos- 
session. Swayed by this new and higher and more 
potent affection, he is ready to part with the lusts 
which have been dearest to him when he discovers 
them to be offensive to Him whom his soul loveth. 
If his right eye offends him he plucks it out and 
casts it from him ; if his right hand offends him he 
cuts it off and casts it from him. And when at any 
time the believer is led into sin and is tempted to 
go on headstrong in his course, he is brought to re- 
pentance, as Peter was, by a view of Jesus as he turns 
round and looks upon him ; it is that look of Jesus 
which makes him " go out and weep bitterly." 

It is as we look up to that star in the sky that 
this downward look of ours is uplifted, and our 
frame becomes erect, and our path becomes a for- 
ward one. It is this light shining above us, as the 
sun, which shows us the path and cheers us as we 
walk in it. 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE PRODUCED BY THE 
SPIRIT BEING POURED FORTH. 



I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants 
of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications, and they 
shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall 
mourn for him. — Zech. xii. 10. 



HIS language refers in the first instance to the 



Jews. The time is coming when in conse- 
quence of God pouring out his Spirit on that people, 
they shall look on him whom they have pierced, and 
mourn. " Whom they have pierced " is the language. 
We all know how literally it was fulfilled ; and this 
by the people who have the Old Testament in their 
hands and have been the main instruments in handing 
it down to us. His whole body was cruelly pierced. 
His head was pierced by the crown of thorns laid 
upon it; his back was pierced by the terrible scourg- 
ing of the Roman soldiery; his side was pierced by 
the spear thrust into it, and his hands and his feet 
by the nails which fixed him to the cross. His 
soul also was pierced through by many wounds, by 
" agony," and " exceeding sorrow even unto death." 
" His blood be on us and on our children " was the 
prayer or imprecation of the Jews when Pilate was 
unwilling to take the responsibility of shedding that 




FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



47 



blood. How fearfully has that curse descended upon 
the Jews and their children from generation to gen- 
eration ! But it is a striking circumstance that you 
can scarcely point out a passage in which the Jews 
are spoken of as being cast off, without finding some- 
where near it language which denotes that they are 
again to be visited with the favor of God. In this 
passage, while they are spoken of as piercing their 
Lord, they are represented as looking by faith on 
him whom they have pierced, and mourning over 
their sinfulness in deepest contrition. That elder 
branch of the family is at present doomed like Cain, 
with a brother's blood crying to Heaven for ven- 
geance upon them, to wander upon the face of the 
earth ; but the time is coming when the blood which 
they imprecated upon themselves and upon their 
children shall speak better things than the blood 
of Abel, and shall be upon their children as the 
blood that speaketh peace and cleanseth from all 
sin. 

While the language refers in the first instance to 
the Jews, it admits of a legitimate application to 
others. There is not a gracious promise given in 
the Old Testament to Israel, which we may not take 
to ourselves through Jesus who broke down the mid- 
dle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile. Let 
us look for the fulfilment of the promise as we con- 
template — first, the Gracious Promise; and secondly, 
the accomplishment of it in the Faith and Repent- 
ance of the returning sinner. 



4 8 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



I. 

THE NEED OF THE OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT IN 
ORDER TO FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 

The sinner is described in the Word as being dead 
in trespasses and sins. Behold in Lazarus sleeping 
in the tomb a picture of man in his natural state. 
Eyes had he, but they saw not; ears had he, but 
they heard not; feet had he, but they moved not; 
hands had he, but they handled not. It is a figure 
of the sinner who has lost spiritual power and dis- 
cernment. Eyes has he, but he sees no beauty in 
Christ that he should desire him. Ears has he, but 
he will not attend to the voice of the charmer, charm 
he never so sweetly; high powers and faculties, but 
these are not employed in the service of God. Not 
till he, who standing by the grave uttered the com- 
mand, " Lazarus, come forth ! " not till he says, 
" Arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee 
light ! " not till then will these eyes behold the king 
in his beauty, and these ears listen in docility to 
the teaching of Christ, and these gifts of God be 
employed in the service of the Giver. 

Not only does the sinner yet in his sins need to 
be thus quickened, but the very people of God 
require again and again the living power of the 
same Spirit who at first regenerated their souls. For 
even after he has been raised from his natural dead- 
ness, he is apt anew to fall into spiritual slumber. 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



49 



Behold in Jonah asleep on the deck of a vessel which 
was to carry him away to a heathen country where 
he thought he might forget God and good, — behold 
in the obstinate prophet asleep in the midst of the 
waters raging around him, a picture of many of. the 
professing and of not a few of the true people of 
God asleep in the midst of the waves of temptation. 
How much need of a voice like that of the heathen 
mariners to' Jonah : " Arise, thou sleeper, and call 
upon thy God." 

I need not dwell on the necessity of repentance. 
If all men have sinned, it needs no argument to 
prove that all men should repent. Is there one 
here who thinks that he needs no repentance, some 
proud formalist whose feeling is expressed in the lan- 
guage, " Stand by, for I am holier than thou ; " some 
Pharisee who acknowledges that this publican should 
mourn over his sins, but claims that such a one as 
he himself is, does not require to grieve very long 
or very deeply over sins which are so slight and 
trivial, — I affirm, and I affirm it deliberately, that 
there is no man within these walls who has greater 
need to have his heart melted. " Except ye repent, 
ye shall all likewise perish." 

Those who would repent, need to be told that in 
order to repent they need power from on high. 
Repentance is the gift of him who is " exalted a 
Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, 
and forgiveness of sins." It is when the Spirit is 
poured out that sinners are brought to genuine 

4 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



repentance, — that is, repentance unto life. Without 
this, there will always be a shying, an avoiding of 
the humiliation implied, — always an obstacle in the 
way, — and the heart will turn aside like a deceitful 
bow. 

Look at this individual who has come to see that 
he is following a course which he now feels to be 
wrong. It is Cain charged with the murder of a 
brother; or it is Judas returning the money which 
the priests had given him as the price of treachery. 
The man is stunned and pained, and knows not 
whither to turn. Now he confesses his sin, and now 
he is inclined to deny or excuse it. Sometimes he 
labors hard to banish the recollection of it from his 
mind, and forthwith the remembrance rushes in upon 
him like a torrent. Is this man a penitent? No one 
who knows what repentance is, will allow that he 
is. What, then, does he want? What does he need? 
He is without faith and genuine repentance, and he 
needs the presence and power of the Spirit of God 
to strike that heart which has been stunned but has 
not been broken. 

Or look again to that other individual, still more 
moved and distressed by the reproaches of con- 
science. It is Esau weeping bitterly over the loss 
of ill-gotten gains, or Felix trembling while Paul is 
speaking to him of righteousness, temperance, and 
judgment to come. It is the dishonest man caught 
with his ill-gotten gains, the liar with a detected 
falsehood, or the drunkard after a previous night's 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



51 



debauch. Is this man repenting? There may be an 
agitated frame, there may be tossings of body and 
gnawings of soul, there may be bitter tears, there 
may be anxious days and sleepless nights, there may 
be reproaches as to the past and fears as to the 
future; but no one of these constitutes, nor do all 
of these constitute repentance. These bitter waters 
flowing from the yet unsanctified soul will only sour 
the tender affections, and render the whole nature 
and character barren, as the land around Jericho 
was till the prophet healed its waters. It is when 
the grace of God is introduced into the heart, as the 
salt was cast into the waters of Jericho, that there 
is henceforth no more death nor barrenness. 

As long as the heart is untouched by the spirit 
of grace, it either remains in a state of utter insensi- 
bility in reference to God and sin on the one hand, 
or, on the other hand, it is troubled with feelings of 
reproach and fear, but without being persuaded and 
changed. In ordinary circumstances the sinner is 
disposed to think of God and the relation in which 
he stands to Him as seldom as possible. There may 
be times, however, when he is shaken out of his ha- 
bitual self-complacency. Possibly disease has seized 
upon him, and death seems in hard pursuit, and hell 
appears not far behind. Or the conscience is awak- 
ened, he cannot tell how, from its habitual lethargy ; 
it speaks to him as one having authority, and sum- 
mons him as it were to the bar of God's judgment, 
to give an account of his actions. Now, the great 



52 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



body of mankind flit between these two extremes, 
being generally in a state of insensibility, but at times 
troubled with regrets as to the past and fears as to 
the future. But as the heart when in the one state, 
that of unconcern, is in a sinful condition, so in the 
other state, of mere compunction and fear, it is far 
from being in a healthy state. We need the power 
from on high on the one hand to arouse us from 
our habitual carelessness, and on the other hand to 
conduct to genuine faith and true peace. We may 
seek for repentance, and like Esau seek it carefully 
with tears ; but we can " find no place for repent- 
ance " till He who knows our hearts and has access 
to them unlocks them and opens up fountains within 
us. Mere natural reproaches of conscience and alarms 
of coming judgments may stun the heart for a time, 
but they cannot break or melt it. 

Can we bring water out of the rock? No; but 
when spoken to in the power of God, waters will 
gush out as they did at Horeb. And now the bosom, 
pained though it may have been for a time, finds 
relief. We have heard of the sorrowful spirit, after 
the eyes had continued long dry, finding relief in 
a flood of tears; we have seen an angry sky dis- 
charging itself in showers, and then smiling in peace 
and loveliness. Of a like nature is the relief given 
to the troubled mind when the heart, long pent and 
straitened, finds vent in true faith and genuine re- 
pentance. The crowded bosom now finds an outlet, 
the confined heart experiences enlargement, and the 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 53 

fettered spirit is free. The feelings are now poured 
forth from the broken heart like the ointment from 
the alabaster box when the woman that was a sinner 
broke it and poured the ointment on the feet of Jesus. 

The very people of God have reason at times to 
mourn over a narrowness of heart, over unfitness 
for the service of God, and an aversion to spiritual 
things. Every feeling is straitened : their faith is 
straitened, their love is straitened, their peace is 
staitened, their joy is straitened, their hope is strait- 
ened, their energy is straitened. The tears of peni- 
tence on the one hand will not flow from their eyes, 
nor the hopes of the just cheer them on the other. 
Every faculty and feeling is at present like the sails 
of the vessel on the ocean, when there is no wind to 
expand them, and they hang idly and loosely, and 
the ship is making no progress. But while they are 
straitened, the Spirit of the Lord is not straitened ; 
let such pray that the Spirit would come as he came 
on the day of Pentecost, like the mighty rushing wind, 
to expand their hearts and hasten their progress 
towards perfection and towards heaven. They feel 
as if they had not a word to speak at present in 
God's behalf, as if they had nothing wherewith to 
show forth God's praise; let them pray that the 
Spirit would come, as on the day of Pentecost, in 
tongues of fire, and then they will sing aloud in 
God's praise. When the Spirit is poured out from 
on high, then they are able to believe and repent, 
to love and to serve God. 



54 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



II. 

THE EFFECTS PRODUCED WHEN THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS 
POURED OUT: "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM 
THEY HAVE PIERCED, AND MOURN." 

I. They "look on him whom they have pierced." 
By looking unto a pierced Lord, we are just to 
understand faith in one of its liveliest exercises. In 
the rich and pictured style of language employed in 
the Word, faith is often described by one of its most 
expressive acts; the outward sign is put for the 
inward sentiment. " Behold, as the eyes of servants 
look unto the hand of their masters, and as the 
eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; 
so our eyes wait upon the Lord our. God, till he 
have mercy on us." The believer looks to Christ 
and his wounds with the eye of the mind, just 
as the serpent-bitten Israelites looked to the ser- 
pent of brass which Moses raised by the command 
of God. 

And whenever the Spirit is poured out from on 
high, the instant effect is the production of faith. 
Faith, indeed, seems to be the first, — always along 
with repentance, — saving or spiritual grace of the 
Christian character. It must be so, from the very 
nature of things. Till the offers of mercy are ac- 
cepted, and this by faith, they cannot be ours, or be 
of any service to us. Till the eye looks to the object 
raised, the disease will not stop its ravages. 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



55 



But it is not everything that passes under the 
name of faith, nor every kind of faith, that has effi- 
cacy to save the sinner. Our attention is called in 
this passage to two features of saving faith. 

First, you perceive that it looks to a pierced Lord. 
" They shall look on him whom they have pierced." 
This is the object to which faith is specially directed. 
It is not sufficient that we look to the glorious and 
spotless perfections of Jehovah in the abstract. 
Many have very enlightened views of the nature 
and character of Jehovah, who, alas ! have none of 
that faith which appropriates salvation. Nor is it suf- 
ficient that we look to God through the medium of 
the operations of his hands in the works of creation. 
Many are conversant with the more conspicuous of 
the works of God in the earth and visible heavens, 
and can trace the wisdom of his ways in providence, 
who never apply to the blood which cleanses from 
sin. Faith looks specially to God the Mediator, 
to God w r ho is in Christ reconciling the world unto 
himself, not imputing unto them their trespasses. 
The faith that saves is a faith in Jesus the appointed 
Saviour. Nor is it enough that we look to the Son 
of God as enthroned in heaven. He is there encir- 
cled by too great a blaze of light to be steadily 
contemplated by the eye of the helpless sinner. If 
we would obtain that saving power which flows from 
him, we must look to the wounds by which he was 
pierced, and the blood that flows from them. The 
contemplation of the Son of God in all his glory in 



56 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



heaven may well awe the sinner, but it will not melt 
the stubbornness of the heart; it may elevate the 
man already a believer, but it will not comfort the 
anxious inquirer. It is the contemplation of Jesus 
laying aside all this glory and tabernacling on the 
earth; it is the contemplation of the manger at 
Bethlehem, of the flight into Egypt, of the dreary 
temptation in the wilderness, of the reproaches and 
contumely which he received, of the agony of the 
Garden, of the unjust sentence pronounced against 
him, of the crown of thorns, the cup of gall and the 
hidings of the Father's countenance, of the pains of 
death and the gloom of the sepulchre, — it is the 
contemplation of these, it is the contemplation, in 
short, of a pierced Lord, which pierces the heart of 
the sinner and causes it to melt in tenderness and 
in love. Never till we look to a pierced, to a suffer- 
ing, a bleeding Saviour, will we find our spiritual dis- 
eases healed and our soul filled with light and comfort. 
The Jew looks to a conquering and triumphant 
Messiah, and his heart remains cold and estranged. 
When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him, he 
will look to a pierced Lord, and feelings of faith 
and penitence will spring up. 

Observe, as another characteristic of saving faith, 
that it leads those who possess it to look to Jesus as 
pierced by them. " They shall look on me whom 
they have pierced." But, you may be asking, what 
share had we in the sufferings of Jesus? We were 
not living in the days of his earthly pilgrimage, 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



57 



we never wounded that body, we never tortured 
that soul. You may have heard of the king who, 
on hearing a description of the ill usage which Jesus 
received, exclaimed, " If I and my brave Franks 
had been there, I had prevented this ! " But such 
feelings and language resemble too much those of 
the Jews who put our Lord to death. They de- 
clared that if they had lived in the days of their 
fathers they would not have been guilty with them 
of the blood of the prophets. I believe that there 
is something in every man — a carnal enmity against 
God and all that bears his image — .which would 
most certainly have tempted us, if not restrained by 
grace, to join, if our lot had been cast in his days, 
in the cry of his persecutors. 

But it can serve no good purpose to speculate as 
to what might have been our conduct had we lived 
in such different circumstances from those in which 
we are at present placed. Independently of all such 
considerations, I assert that every sinner has had, 
in a sense, a part in inflicting the sufferings to which 
our Lord was subjected. You must learn to connect 
your sins with the Saviour's sufferings. The Jews, 
indeed, were the guilty instruments of inflicting all 
these injuries ; but there is a previous question, — 
how did Jesus come to submit to them all? The 
Jews had power to crucify him ; but the malice of 
the Jews, great though it was, could not have brought 
him down from heaven to earth, or torn him from 
the embraces of his Father's love. They could no 



5 8 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



more have done this than they could have plucked 
a star or the sun from the firmament. The power 
which Pilate and the Jews exercised was a power 
given or allowed them. " Thou hadst had no power 
unless it had been given thee." All Christ's labors 
were voluntarily undertaken, all his sorrows were will- 
ingly undergone. When Peter was about to employ 
force in order to rescue him, he rebuked the officious 
attempt : " Thinkest thou that I cannot even now 
pray to my Father, and he will presently send twelve 
legions of angels?" They cried when he was sus- 
pended on the cross : " Let him come down, and 
we will believe on him." And he could have come 
down from the cross; but in that event, belief in 
him could have had no saving power. He could 
have burst the nails that fixed him to the tree ; but 
from that instant man must have been fast bound in 
the chains of everlasting death. 

When we read the account in the Gospels of the 
trials of Jesus, we cannot but feel indignation rising 
in our breasts against those who committed such 
wickedness ; but when our indignation is at its great- 
est height, let us turn round and direct it against 
ourselves, — against our sins, the true enemies and 
murderers of our Lord. " He tasted of death for 
every one ; " and your sins, believer, formed one of 
the elements of that cup of wrath which he had to 
drink to the very dregs. Your sins, believer, were 
part of the sins which he bore in his own body on 
the tree. It was the accumulated sins of all and each 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



59 



of his people which weighed him down to the ground 
in the Garden and bowed his head on the cross. Let 
us look upon our sins as one of the scourges that 
lacerated his body, as a branch of the crown of 
thorns that surrounded his holy brow, as a drop of 
the gall mixed with vinegar given him to drink, as 
a part of the dark cloud that covered the Father's 
face from iiis view. 

This I reckon as a distinguishing feature of saving 
faith. The sinner connects his sins with the suffer- 
ings of his Redeemer. When he thinks of Christ's 
sufferings, he thinks how his sins were the cause of 
their infliction, and he thinks that if Christ had not 
borne them he himself must have borne them. He 
thus looks upon Jesus, not so much in the light of 
a Saviour for others as one suited to himself. His 
faith thus becomes a faith in Jesus as his Saviour; 
it embraces Christ, and appropriates the blessings 
which he purchased. 

2. Another effect is mourning, or repentance. 
Faith and repentance ever go together as the sav- 
ing graces. When Paul was at Ephesus, he preached 
everywhere repentance toward God and faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And here we will not enter upon 
the question sometimes discussed among theologians, 
as to whether faith goes before repentance, or repent- 
ance goes before faith. The two, as it appears to me, 
come together. It is a sense of sin that drives us 
to the Saviour, and we come to the Saviour by faith ; 
the sinner looks to Christ by the eye of faith, and 



6o 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



as he does so he mourns and repents. There may 
be, indeed, and there generally are, convictions of 
sin going before faith; but a believing view of God 
is necessary to full repentance. It is when w T e get 
a proper view of God that we are brought to bow 
before him in the dust : " I have heard of thee with 
the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth 
thee: wherefore I abhor myself in dust and ashes." 
Thus do the more joyful join with the more plaintive 
notes in the song with which the soul approaches 
the Redeemer. 

But how, you ask, should sorrow be the effect of 
a saving view of Christ? You will find an answer 
to this question suggested by the train of remark 
which we have been following. We are called to 
mourn over the sufferings of our Lord because of 
our connection with them ; we mourn when we look 
on him whom we have pierced. It cannot be other- 
wise. Conceive a prodigal who had been awakened 
to a sense of his sin, standing by the death-bed of a 
father whose gray hairs were being brought down, 
by the infatuation of that son, with sorrow to the 
grave. What would be the first feeling rising in 
that son's breast? Would it not be sorrow over 
the part he had acted and the consequences pro- 
duced? As he thought of the kindness and for- 
bearance of that parent, of the many advices which 
he had given him, alas ! only to be despised, or as 
he heard even now that father declaring that he 
forgave every offence which had been committed, 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



61 



and prayed day and night for the welfare of that 
son, would this check the son's grief, or would it 
not open new fountains of sorrow to flow from his 
eyes more freely than before ? We need not apply 
the illustration. If the prodigal could not but feel 
in this way, how is it possible for the believer to 
stand at the foot of the cross and look on him 
whom his sins have pierced, and not experience 
the deepest sorrow? True it is, every word that 
comes from the Saviour's lips is melting with tender- 
ness ; but this circumstance just makes the believer 
mourn all the more when he thinks how he has 
offended so kind a Saviour. When Peter, in the 
very act of denying his Master, received from him 
that look so full of love, what could he do but go 
out and weep bitterly? 

Or, to vary our illustration, conceive what must 
have been the feelings of the brethren of Joseph 
when he revealed himself to them in the land of 
Egypt. "I am Joseph, thy brother," was the lan- 
guage addressed to their astonished ears. What ! is 
this the brother against whom we in the malice of 
our hearts conspired, — the brother whom some of us 
proposed to kill, and who was actually sold as a 
slave? What was left to them but to cast themselves 
on the ground and pour out their soul in bitter re- 
flections. It is all very true, they might be reminded, 
this brother is giving us the best proof that he has 
forgiven us; all very true, that what we meant for 
evil has in the providence of God been overruled 



62 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



for good ; and the very troubles through which this 
brother has passed, have been the means of saving 
the family. All this may be true ; but still it cannot 
diminish the baseness, the cruelty of the deed we 
have committed. Now, we stand towards Jesus in 
much the same relation as the ten brethren of Joseph 
did towards him. He condescends to be called our 
elder brother; he has been a friend sticking to us 
closer than a brother, and yet we have been ashamed 
of him; we have treated him worse than any man 
ever treated any other; we have injured, denied, 
and betrayed him. What can we do when we 
discover all this, but give ourselves up to sorrow, 
and wish that our eyes were fountains of tears 
that we might weep day and night for a pierced 
Lord. 

Let us look, in closing, at some of the character- 
istics of evangelical sorrow. 

You perceive the source of the genuine penitent's 
sorrow. He mourns over the wounds that have been 
inflicted, but he mourns chiefly over his connection 
with them. He might not mourn at all, or he might 
not mourn so deeply, if his sins had not been con- 
nected with Christ's death. He hears Jesus as it 
were saying, " Weep not for me, but weep for your- 
selves ; " and he weeps over those sins which have 
crucified the Lord of glory, and do still crucify him 
afresh and put him to open shame. 

The penitent has a deep view of the evil of sin. 
Never do we see the evil of sin in such fearful colors 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



63 



as when we stand at the foot of the cross. In what- 
ever aspect we view it, we see its heinousness : whether 
we look upon it as the violation of a pure and holy 
law, or as the worst enemy of man, or as the fruitful 
source of every other evil to which we are exposed, — 
of the famines, plagues, and pestilences which have 
devastated the earth, and of the outward annoyances 
and inward reproaches which disturb our peace. But 
never, surely, does sin look so black and heinous as 
when we regard it as the cause of the death of the 
Son of God. What can the sinner do when he sees 
this, but mourn and be in bitterness? 

Observe the extent of this sorrow. The penitent 
mourns over his sin as deeply as over his greatest 
earthly loss. He mourns as one mourneth for an 
only son, as one that is in bitterness for a first-born. 
Repentance, then, does not consist in a mere resolu- 
tion to mourn, in a mere passing emotion of grief, 
or a momentary sadness when we happen to be dis- 
appointed or when our spirits are melancholy. It 
is not like the sorrow at the death of some friend in 
whom we may feel an interest, but whose loss does 
not affect us very deeply. We follow the remains 
of such an one to the grave in unfeigned sadness, but 
our grief is neither very poignant nor lasting. But 
such is not the grief of the penitent. It is as when 
the mother sees the remains of her first-born carried 
from her dwelling, or the long funeral wind away 
to the place of the dead. It is as when the father 
lowers the remains of his only child in the grave, 



6 4 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and returns to spend the remainder of his earthly 
pilgrimage in sadness and solitude. 

Specially observe that this sorrow for sin is not 
a sorrow apart from Christ or independent of him ; 
neither is it a sorrow without hope. It is a sorrow 
which springs from the view of a pierced Lord, and 
brings us to that pierced Lord for pardon and for 
peace. If the wounds of Jesus cannot but open 
up wounds in our breast, they also supply the balm 
that heals the wounds. 



NATURE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 



Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, re- 
pentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus 
Christ. — Acts xx. 21. 

T7VERY one knows that the gospel of Jesus Christ, 



the Son of God, began with the Baptist preach- 
ing repentance always along with faith (Matt. iii. 2) : 
" Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ; " 
as much as to say, Repent, as ye believe in that king- 
dom which is coming. It has not been so generally 
noticed that Jesus began his preaching with the same 
themes (Matt. iv. 17) : " From that time Jesus began 
to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand." And now in the Christian 
church we find Paul, who had sent for the elders of 
the church at Ephesus to meet him at Miletus, re- 
minding them that when among them he had testi- 
fied to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance 
towards God and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ. 
These two, repentance and faith as they had been 
proclaimed by the forerunner of our Lord, by our 
Lord himself, and by the great preacher among the 
apostles, are to be preached in all ages, to all people, 
to the uneducated, but also to the educated ; not only 




5 



66 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



to the heathen, the outcast, the degraded, but also 
to the refined, the enlightened; "to the Jews, and 
also to the Greeks." The preacher is unfaithful 
to the trust committed to him who does not from 
time to time enforce the necessity of faith and 
repentance. 

These two are not the highest of the graces. Re- 
pentance was not required of man in Paradise, nor 
is it enjoined upon the angels and saints in heaven. 
There is a higher grace than faith: " There abideth 
these three : faith, hope, and charity ; but the great- 
est of these is charity." Repentance and faith are 
not the highest round of the ladder ; they are rather 
the lowest step on which we must place our feet if 
we would ascend. They are the two saving graces 
of the Christian character. They do not constitute 
the temple ; they are the two-leaved gates standing 
open by which we enter. It will serve little purpose 
to begin with saying to the sinner, "Love God and be 
holy and perfect; " for he finds that when he would 
attempt this, he miserably fails; when he would 
mount to heaven without faith as wings, he falters 
and falls. The teacher does not begin with trying 
to teach his pupils science and philosophy; he im- 
parts simpler and more rudimentary lessons, and 
would thus carry them to higher truths. The phy- 
sician does not say to his patients, Be healthy and 
strong; he requires them to submit to a regimen, 
and to partake of the medicines that may heal them. 
It is after this manner that our Lord deals with man, 



NATURE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 6? 



and this in thorough accordance with our nature. 
Faith and repentance are the milk and not the 
strong meat which Christ gives to babes. As sinners 
they have to start from this low ground, that they 
may succeed in rising to love and obedience, to 
holiness and heaven. 

I. 

REPENTANCE TOWARDS GOD. 

I need not dwell on the necessity of repentance. 
If all men have sinned, it needs no argument to 
prove that all should repent. Is there one in this 
assembly who thinks that he needs no repentance, — 
some proud formalist whose spirit is expressed in 
the language, " Stand by, for I am holier than 
thou ; " some self-righteous Pharisee who is willing to 
acknowledge that this publican should mourn over his 
sins, but assumes that for himself he does not require 
to grieve very long or deeply over offences which 
are so slight and trivial, and these balanced by ex- 
cellences, — I affirm, and affirm it deliberatively, that 
there is no man within these walls who has greater 
need to have his heart melted. " Except ye repent, 
ye shall likewise perish." 

But what is the nature of the repentance which is 
so imperatively required of us? It is, first, a true sense 
of sin. It does not consist in a mere fear of the 
consequences of sin, as when a man gets himself 
into trouble by a wrong act, and is vexed, annoyed, 



68 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and angry with himself for being so foolish, and 
regrets that he ever did the deed. One may do all 
this, and meanwhile have no appreciation of the evil 
of his conduct; he loves the sin as much as he ever 
did before, and if he could avoid the consequences, 
he would engage in it as greedily as ever. Cain was 
not a penitent when he expressed himself, " My 
punishment is greater than I can bear ; " this shows 
that he had a sense of the consequences of the sin, 
but not of the sin itself. It will be found of the 
person who goes no farther than this, that his com- 
punctions have little or no influence in preserving 
him from like sins in time to come. He regrets 
to-day, only to return to the offence to-morrow. 

The true penitent has a sense of the evil of sin 
in itself. He regards it as a disobedience to that 
law of love which he perceives to be holy, just, and 
good. He grieves over it as giving offence to that 
God who is so pure and holy, and who has shown 
him such kindness. He sees it to be injurious to 
the best interests of the soul, and in many forms of 
it to be unjust or injurious to his fellow-men. View- 
ing it in this light, he sees it to be evil, and only 
evil. Before, he rolled it as a sweet morsel under his 
tongue, and when charged with it he was inclined to 
deny it, or excuse it, or explain it away. Now, he 
sees it to be utterly bad and inexcusable, and he 
acknowledges it to God, — and to his fellow-men 
when it has done them injury. 

Sometimes the repentance begins in a sense of 



NATURE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 69 

some particular sin ; but it does not stop there. As 
the sinner discovers the stream to be polluted, he 
traces it up to the fountain and discovers that the 
heart is corrupt. Show the physician an outward 
symptom, a pain or weakness or colored spot on a 
limb, and he may have to follow it to its source in a 
deeply-seated distemper. So it is with the penitent : 
an outbreak of selfishness, or lust, or passion at once 
reveals to him that the whole head is sick, and the 
whole heart faint, and that from the crown of the 
head to the sole of the feet there is no soundness. 
In other cases, penitence begins in a deep sense of the 
evil of sin generally, and the depravity of our nature. 
But when it is genuine, it becomes a sense of the 
individual sins into which we have fallen. It is re- 
corded in the life of a faithful minister, that on 
visiting a dying woman he found her describing 
herself as an awful sinner; but having doubts of 
her spiritual state, he went over with her the ten 
commandments, to find that she could not be brought 
to acknowledge that she had been guilty of 
breaking any one of them, which proved to him 
that she was deceiving herself. The true penitent 
sees the evil of sin both in the corruption of the 
heart and the particular sins that spring from that 
source. 

Secondly, in true repentance there is an appre- 
hension of the mercy of God in Christ. It is not a 
sorrow apart from Christ, nor independent of him; 
neither is it a sorrow without hope. Despondency, 



70 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



or despair, is not repentance. The showers are al- 
ways lightened by sunshine from heaven, and the 
tears run down the furrows made by smiles. It is 
not good for any man to mourn alone, and cover 
up his sorrow in his bosom, there like a cancer to 
eat ever inward. Listen to the experience of the 
Psalmist (Ps. xxxii. 3) : " When I kept silence, my 
bones waxed old through my roaring all the day 
long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon 
me : my moisture is turned into the drought of 
summer." Such was his experience as long as he 
confined his feelings to his bosom ; but he goes on 
to say : " I acknowleged my sin unto thee, and mine 
iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my 
transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest 
the iniquity of my sin." From that instant he had 
peace; as we have seen an angry sky discharging 
itself in showers, and the whole landscape joyous 
with smiling sunshine. The proper attitude of the 
penitent is that of the woman who was a sinner, 
mentioned in the Gospels. She had been brought 
to see her sin, and to know that there was a Saviour ; 
she learns that he has gone into the house of a 
Pharisee ; she follows him hither, at the risk of being 
repulsed; she comes into the place where he was; 
she bends over his body; tears fall from her eyes 
upon the feet of Jesus, and afraid lest she might 
have given offence, she wipes them with the hair of 
her head. Such is the proper position of the true 
penitent, — not mourning in empty solitude, but 



NATURE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE. Jl 

seeking out Christ, coming to him in holy boldness, 
pouring out his sorrows to him, and laying his sins 
upon him. 

Thirdly, the sinner turns unto God with the ear- 
nest and determined purpose to give up his sin. 
This is the consummation of the whole. This is 
/jueravola, — the change of mind in which true peni- 
tence is consummated. There may be other and 
lower kinds of repentance, so called in Scripture, but 
not called ixeravola. Pharaoh repented, in a sense, 
when the plagues were upon him and his people ; but 
when they passed away, his repentance also passed 
away. Judas is said to have repented, and he re- 
turned the thirty pieces he had received as the price 
of blood; but he went out and hanged himself. 
Genuine repentance always carries with it reforma- 
tion. At this point, faith joins on to penitence. 
Faith brings us to God, but we are driven to this 
step by penitence. As the result of the whole, the 
view we have got of sin leads us to turn away from 
it; but for this purpose we turn to God through 
faith, and obtain strength to accomplish our end. 
There may be a struggle before we succeed, — 
nay, there maybe one struggle after another; there 
may be partial defeat, but always succeeded by 
triumph. This is the fruit, and it is the test of the 
genuineness of the penitence : " By their fruits shall 
ye know them ; " " Bring forth therefore fruits meet 
for repentance." 



72 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



II. 

FAITH TOWARDS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

There is an idea entertained by some that faith 
is a very mysterious exercise, — visionary, unreal, 
inexpressible, and inexplicable, as incomprehensible 
as some of the grand objects at which it looks; and 
they excuse themselves from seeking what is so diffi- 
cult to catch, or they content themselves with clasp- 
ing a cloud when they might have a substantial 
reality. Now, there is no operation of mind more 
simple in itself, or which man is called on more fre- 
quently to employ, than faith. He who would obsti- 
nately decline to exercise faith must needs go out 
of this world ; and he knows of no other world to 
which to go. The boy believes in the love of his 
father, the pupil in the knowledge of his teacher, 
the youth in the trustworthiness of his bosom friend, 
the farmer in the seasons, the patient in the medi- 
cine of his physician, the merchant in the corre- 
spondence between demand and supply, and the 
scholar in the value of research. Religion, in requir- 
ing us to believe, is not demanding anything unrea- 
sonable or unnatural. Change the object to which 
it is directed : let it be a faith, not in an earthly but 
a heavenly Father ; not in an erring human teacher, 
but a divine and infallible one ; not in a friend who 
may fail in the time of need, but one that " sticketh 
closer than a brother; " not in a captain who may 



NATURE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 73 

himself fall in the fight, but one who has gained 
the victory and will make us conquerors, and more 
than conquerors ; not in medicines which cure the 
body, but the blood of Christ, which heals the soul ; 
not in the revolution of the seasons, but the grander 
movements of God's providence; not in the laws 
which regulate the acquisition and distribution of 
wealth, but the connection between sin and suf- 
fering, between holiness and heaven; not in the 
value of human scholarship, but of divine learn- 
ing, — and it becomes the faith that sanctifies and 
saves. 

A word here as to an academic question often 
discussed, What is faith psychologically, — that is, 
as an exercise of the soul? Is it an act of the head, 
or the heart; of the understanding, or the feelings? 
— of both? of one? of which? To this questioning 
I answer, first, that all these phrases need to be ex- 
plained. So far as they are in common use, they 
are vague and ambiguous ; so far as they belong to 
mental science, no two metaphysicians explain them 
alike. " With the heart man believeth," is the Scrip- 
ture statement (Rom. viii. 10), but with the heart 
in the sense in which it is used in Scripture, where 
it denotes greatly more than the English word does, 
vastly more than the mere feelings or affections; 
for we read of people understanding with the heart, 
and of the imaginations of the heart. In Scripture, 
the word stands for inward thought and feeling 
of every kind, and includes all the purposing and 



74 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



sentiment which pass through the mind prior to 
action. 

You may have observed that while the phrases 
" believe " and " faith " occur so frequently in the 
New Testament, the word employed commonly in 
the Old Testament is " trust " and " confide." The 
faith that saves is more than a mere intellectual 
judgment, — it is trust, it is confidence; and this 
comprises an exercise of the will: it implies and 
involves choice. We attach ourselves to God, to 
Christ; we cast ourselves upon him, we rest upon 
him. According to this view, faith consists of a 
consent of the will to the assent of the understand- 
ing, — the two in combination raising feeling accord- 
ing to the nature of the truths apprehended and 
believed in. 

It is the first and fundamental truth of the gospel, 
that the sinner is justified by faith. This doctrine 
runs through the whole Scriptures. Abraham was 
justified by faith, as it is said that faith was imputed 
to him for righteousness. " The just shall live by 
faith" is the statement of Habbakuk, quoted more 
than once by Paul. It was the language which 
moved the heart of Luther till it impelled him to 
set forth in the great work of removing the rubbish 
which had been allowed to accumulate and cover 
the simple truths of the Word till it all but buried 
them beneath it. 

It is belief in this truth — no, not belief in truth, 
but a belief in Jesus Christ — that brings relief to 



NATURE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 75 

the soul of the sinner. The condemnation is felt 
to be lying upon it as a heavy and grievous burden; 
it is the curse of God, revealed against all disobe- 
dience. But here in Christ is obedience, to meet 
our case as having no righteousness; here is suffer- 
ing, to stand for the suffering which we have de- 
served: "There is therefore no condemnation to 
them that are in Christ Jesus." 

Not only does it deliver us from condemnation, it 
accomplishes other and higher ends. What a power 
even in our earthly faiths, — as when men sow in 
the assurance that they will reap after a long season, 
and labor in the confidence of a distant reward ! 
What an efficacy in the trust which the child reposes 
in the parent, which the scholar puts in his teacher, 
which the soldier places in his general ! These are 
among the chief potencies which have been alluring 
men to good. As it walks on courageously, faith 
discovers an outlet where sense feared that the way 
was shut in and closed. Difficulties give way as it 
advances, and impossibilities to prudence speedily 
become accomplishments before the might of faith. 
To it we owe the greatest achievements which man- 
kind have effected in art, in travel, in conquest. 
Setting out in search of the unseen, they have made 
it seen and palpable. It was thus that Columbus 
persevered till the long-looked-for country burst 
upon his view ; it is always thus that men discover 
new lands and new worlds outside those previously 
known. But how much more powerful is faith in 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



God ! It is no doubt weak, in that it leans ; but it 
is strong, in that it leans on the arm of the Omnipo- 
tent. It is a creature impotency, which lays hold of 
the Creator's power. It can do more than remove 
mountains, — it can bid away the load of sin lying 
on the conscience and the heart. " We are justified 
by faith," says Paul (Rom. v. i) ; "It purifies the 
heart," says Peter (Acts xv. 19); "It worketh by 
love," says Paul in another epistle (Gal. v. 6) ; " It 
overcometh the world," says John (v. 4). It is by it 
we are lifted above the trials of this world and pre- 
pared for death and heaven. 



III. 

THE RELATION OF REPENTANCE AND FAITH TO 
EACH OTHER. 

Theologians have disputed as to whether faith 
comes before repentance, or repentance comes be- 
fore faith. Something may be said in favor of each 
side. It is urged that there can be no repentance 
till the soul has turned to God by faith. On the 
other hand, it is argued that there cannot be for- 
giveness, which implies faith, without repentance. 
The conclusion I draw is, that the two come together, 
and are inseparable ; that there is never faith without 
repentance, and never repentance without faith. They 
are the two essential elements in the state of the soul 
as it turns to God. Each tends to produce, and in 



NATURE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 77 

fact implies, the other. The sinner will not be apt 
to have faith till he sees his sins ; and, on the other 
hand, faith in the holy God will constrain him to 
repent. It has to be added that sometimes the 
one of these is the stronger, and sometimes the 
other. I have known cases in which the sense of 
sin was so deep that the person had difficulty in 
appropriating by faith the mercy of God, — had 
only, as it were, a glimpse of the sun through a 
thick cloud. In other cases the faith has looked 
so intently on the light that it does not notice the 
darkness. But in all genuine conversions each ele- 
ment is present, and exercising power. Faith brings 
us to the mercy-seat to confess our sins, but there 
cannot be genuine confession without repentance. 
Faith could not be accepted if the sinner did not 
come confessing his sin and repenting of it; and 
repentance could not be real and true if it did not 
bring the sinner by faith to the foot of the cross for 
pardon and for peace. 

The difference between them is indicated very 
expressively in the apt words employed in the text. 
The repentance is " towards God ; " the faith is " to- 
wards the Lord Jesus Christ. ,, Both are towards 
God ; but the one looks more towards God the just and 
the holy One, the governor and judge of the world, 
whose law has been broken ; the other is towards God 
in Christ, who is reconciling the world unto himself. 
Repentance looks primarily and mainly to the sin, to 
the law broken, to God offended, to the ingratitude 



78 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and rebellion displayed and the guilt contracted; 
faith looks more eagerly to the salvation provided 
and offered, to God pacified towards us, to the blood 
that was shed, to the fulness and sufficiency of the 
atonement, to the promises, exceeding great and 
precious, offered us. The one looks down to the 
sins in the soul, like as the children of Israel, when 
bitten by serpents, may have looked to the wounds 
in their prostrated bodies ; the other looks to the 
Saviour lifted up, as the children of Israel looked to 
the serpent of brass which Moses raised by the com- 
mand of God. The one looks back upon the past, 
mourns over it, and turns away from it ; the other 
gazes forward into the future, and prompts us to go 
on in the path which leads to purity and to heaven. 

Each serves a purpose. Faith brings us to the 
mercy-seat ; but it is to confess our sins and to weep 
there, and find relief in consequence. Repentance 
acknowledges the guilt, and would break the hard- 
ness of the heart, which, however bruised, will not be 
melted except under the beams of the Sun of Right- 
eousness. Repentance is the ploughing of the ground 
which needs to be torn up, while faith sows the liv- 
ing seed which strikes out roots and grows in the 
pulverized soil. When the sower casts in his seed, 
he looks for two accompaniments, — for showers and 
for sunshine ; we should pray for like attendants when 
the seed of the Word is cast into our hearts. If 
we have faith, let us seek to have repentance also, 
to give religion a deeper place in our souls. If we 



NATURE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 79 

have repentance, let us by all means add faith, that 
it may lift us to a higher level. If either were alone, 
it would not accomplish its intended end. Repent- 
ance by itself should be despair, and would prostrate 
the energies. Faith, if alone, might be tempted into 
vainglory, and land us in difficulties and inconsist- 
encies, and we should fall into the mistake of the 
person mentioned in ancient fable, who in looking up 
to the stars fell into the ditch. I would not say that 
any one has too much faith, or that any one has too 
much repentance ; but the Christian character is so 
far distorted in its form when there is faith without 
a due balance of repentance, or a repentance without 
a faith to stimulate it. I have known genuine Chris- 
tians who were forever writing bitter things against 
themselves, and thereby imbitteri.ug their lives, sour- 
ing their temper, and narrowing their influence. 
These persons need to have their faith exercised 
and their eye upturned. On the other hand, I have 
known Christians wiio were self-confident and flighty, 
and were tempted in consequence into presumption, 
the precursor of a fall, whereby they lost the con- 
fidence of their fellow-men. This, I suspect, is the 
cause why some have to be visited with affliction to 
humble and restrain them. Faith is the sail that 
catches the breath of heaven, while repentance is 
the ballast which gives us stability in the voyage; 
and by the two we are made to pursue the steady 
course. The Christian character is the strongest 
when the two are happily combined, — when the firm 



8o 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and the flexible are united; when the bones are 
clothed with muscle and flesh. It is the most lovely 
when the darker hues of penitence run through the 
brighter colors of faith. 

The company which no man can number, who 
stand before the Lord and sing his praises, may be 
supposed to consist of two bands mixed through 
and through each other. There are those pure and 
holy ones who need no repentance, for they have 
not transgressed at any time God's commandments ; 
and with them those who have washed their robes 
in the blood of the lamb. I have an idea that these 
last utter the deeper, the mellower, and more tender 
tones in the choral harmony of heaven. As they 
look they behold him that sitteth on the throne; 
but their eye is specially fixed on the lamb that was 
slain, in the midst of the throne of God, and their 
song is to him who washed them from their sins in 
his own blood. 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 



Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre 
and Sidon. .And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the 
same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O 
Lord, thou son of David ; my daughter is grievously vexed with 
a devil. And he answered her not a word. And his disciples 
came and besought him, saying, Send her away ; for she crieth 
after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and wor- 
shipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, 
It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 
And she said, Truth, Lord : yet the dogs eat of the crumbs 
which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and 
said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith : be it unto thee even 
as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very 
hour. — Matt. xv. 21-28. 

TN studying the life of our Lord we may derive 
much instruction from his manner of acting, as 
well as from his conversations and more systematic 
discourses. In saying so, I do not refer to the ex- 
ample he has set us that we should follow his steps, 
so much as to the divine skill and tact, knowledge 
and love, shown in every minute incident of his life. 
By noticing the special manner of his conduct in 
particular circumstances we may obtain a greater 
acquaintance with the combined wisdom and tender- 
ness of Jesus, and a deeper insight into the workings 

6 



82 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



of the human heart. Every act of his life and its 
special mode of performance is worthy of him who 
under the influence of love came from heaven to 
instruct us. Every word is precious ; to adopt the 
image employed by the woman of Canaan, every 
crumb that falls from this master's table may feed 
us. We shall find abundant illustration of this as we 
proceed to the consideration of our Lord's interview 
with the woman of Canaan. 

v. 21. "Then Jesus went thence, and departed into 
the coasts of Tyre and Sidon." It is not for us to 
presume to point out all the reasons which induced 
Jesus to retire at this time beyond the Jewish terri- 
tory. He may have wished to retreat for a season 
from the gaze of the inhabitants of Judea and Galilee, 
from the idle admiration of some and the enmity 
of others, and to give them space to reflect on the 
sublime doctrine they had heard and the wonders 
they had seen. But whatever other considerations 
may have weighed with him, we can conceive that 
he had it specially in view, in passing this once be- 
yond the Jewish territory, to show that the benefits 
to be derived from his mission were not to be con- 
fined to the children of Abraham, but to be extended 
to the nations of the earth. He now passes beyond 
the limits of Judea and extends his blessings to a 
person of a different race; and all to prepare the 
way for the full manifestation of that gospel which 
is to be preached to every creature. 

v. 22. " And behold a woman of Canaan came out 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 83 

of the same coasts, and cried unto him." These may- 
seem at the first look to be contradictory state- 
ments as to the race and nation of this woman ; but 
they can easily be reconciled. This woman is said, in 
the corresponding passage of Mark's Gospel (vii. 26), 
to have been a Greek. The Jews at that time were 
in the way of dividing mankind into Jews and Greeks, 
and called. all heathens by the name of Greeks, what- 
ever might be their extraction. Taking the epithet 
" Greek" in this sense, we are to take it as denoting 
that the woman was a foreigner, and had been an 
idolater. From the same passage we learn that she 
was a Syrophenician, — " a Greek, a Syrophenician," 
— or an inhabitant of that part of Syria called 
Phenice. From the passage before us in Matthew, 
we learn that she was a Canaanite, or a descendant 
of that race which had been devoted to destruction 
by the Lord, and who had been the foes of God's 
ancient people. Though the command had been 
to root them out of the land, several tribes had 
been allowed to remain, where for ages they were 
thorns in the sides of the children of Israel. It is 
necessary to bear these facts in mind in order to the 
full comprehension of our Lord's conduct on this 
occasion. The woman who addressed our Lord was 
not only of an alien race, but of that race which was 
viewed with peculiar feelings of jealousy and enmity 
by the Jews, and she had been a heathen bowing 
down before dumb images, the workmanship of 
men's hands. 



8 4 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Somehow or other, we are not told how, light had 
begun to dawn upon this woman's mind. As living 
on the very borders of the land of Judea, she may 
have become acquainted with the Old Testament 
Scriptures ; some friend may have opened to her 
this treasure, out of which she may have drawn for 
instruction and comfort. Her attention may have 
been directed to the new teacher who had appeared 
in these parts, by the belief, then universally prevalent, 
that some prince or deliverer was to come out of 
Judea ; or a report may have been brought her of 
the wonders which he had been performing in the 
immediately adjoining region. The simple but ap- 
propriate expression of her faith with which she in- 
troduces herself, " Have mercy upon me, O Lord, 
thou son of David ! " shows that she had attained 
some acquaintance with the character and mission 
of the expected One. By the blessing and grace 
of God her knowledge may have been kindled into 
faith, and the spark of faith kindled into a flame by 
the fiery trial to which she had been subjected, being 
a tyranny of evil powers over the mind and body 
of her child manifested in madness and bodily dis- 
temper. " My daughter is grievously vexed with a 
devil." The very malady with which her daughter 
had been visited showed that she lived in an ex- 
traordinary age in the world's history, and seemed 
to indicate the coming of an extraordinary deliverer. 
She is prepared to recognize the prince foretold 
and expected, and as the very Saviour that her 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 



85 



urgent case required, and so she runs to him and 
cries, "Have mercy upon me, O Lord, thou son of 
David ! " 

Some of those now present have felt themselves 
or may now feel themselves placed in a position 
resembling in some respects that of the woman of 
Canaan. You may have been grieved with the way- 
wardness and folly of some one in whom you feel 
an interest, but whom Satan has been leading captive 
at pleasure; or, feeling the power of sin in your 
own hearts and fearing the consequences, lashed by 
the reproaches of conscience, and in dread of de- 
scending judgments, you may be longing to be freed 
from the chains that bind you. Like the woman of 
Canaan you have heard of Jesus ; many a time has 
a mother recommended him to you ; you have read 
of him in the Scriptures; ministers of religion and 
teachers have been speaking of the riches of his 
grace and the efficacy of his blood. You have felt 
at a certain time in the past, or you do now feel to 
some extent, your need of him ; perhaps breathings 
for something better than this world can give, say for 
higher wishes and tastes, and for greater security ; or 
perhaps compunctions and fears have risen up in 
your minds, you know not how. The business of life 
cannot scatter them ; the pleasures of this world can- 
not charm them away. They raise their still small 
voice as opportunity for reflection comes, as soon as 
the noise of folly ceases. Discovering that you need 
something to satisfy the wants of your immortal soul, 



86 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



you would venture to apply to Christ. You, above 
others, ought to look to the conduct of the Canaanite, 
for it should be yours. You ought to consider the 
conduct of the Saviour in this interview, for it may 
have been the same towards you in the past, or 
it may be the same towards you for the present. 
The reception which Jesus gave her was apparently 
unkind, and her entreaties were met by repeated 
refusals. 

FIRST REFUSAL. 

" He answered her not a word." Why, we ask, 
should the Saviour have given her so cold a recep- 
tion? How are we to reconcile this with the usual 
gentleness and loveliness of his character? On other 
occasions he was ready to sympathize with affliction 
under every form. We read that they brought to 
him the sick, the maimed, and the blind, and he 
healed them all. On many occasions he answered 
them before they called, and heard them while they 
were yet speaking to him. They did not need 
to lift their voice ; they had only to touch the hem 
of his garment, and as many as touched the hem of 
his garment were made whole. 

Moved by grief of every kind, he was peculiarly 
susceptible of being touched by scenes of domestic 
sorrow arising from the distress of relatives and 
friends. We have an account, for example, of his 
raising the dead on three several occasions, and in 
each case it was in compassion towards sorrowing 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 



87 



relatives. It was when Jairus pleaded in behalf of 
his daughter with the importunateness of an afflicted 
father, that he first conquered the king of terrors; 
and in dismissing the others from the apartment, 
he allowed the father and mother to remain, that 
they might see the first symptoms of returning ani- 
mation, and not be kept one instant in suspense. 
It was as he saw a mother following the bier of her 
son, — he the only son of his mother and she a widow, 
— that he wrought the second time the miracle of 
raising the dead. He instantly stopped the bier, 
and hastened to restore the youth to the embraces 
of his mother. Again, it was when his heart was 
being wrung with the pleadings of Martha and Mary, 
that he raised their brother Lazarus from the dead. 
The great Deliverer, who could without being op- 
pressed bear the burden of a world's sins, on this 
occasion groaned in spirit and was troubled. We 
do not read of his shedding tears upon the cross, 
when his body was being torn and tortured ; the 
tears which he shed were over the grave of a friend. 
" Jesus wept." 

Now, we expect him to be moved by like feelings, 
and to act in a similar manner, when the woman of 
Canaan pleaded so earnestly for her grievously afflicted 
daughter. We are astonished when we read that he 
answered her not a word. He did not give her so 
much as a kind word or a friendly look. He pursued 
his journey as if her voice had never reached his ear, 
or as if his heart were steeled against her complaint. 



88 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Why this coldness and indifference? Did he think 
he had done enough for careless and ungrateful man? 
No, he blessed those who cursed him ; and it was for 
the very purpose of benefiting those who were in- 
sensible to the goodness bestowed upon them, that 
he left the Father's bosom. Or was it that his 
bodily frame was weary with the journey? No, his 
bodily strength might be spent, but not his love, 
which is infinite, like all his other perfections. When 
oppressed with the heat and burden of the day, he 
gave living water to the woman at the well of Sama- 
ria. He did not give a word of comfort to this 
afflicted woman ; and yet when his body was in tor- 
ture he said to the dying malefactor, " To-day thou 
shalt be with me in Paradise." Or was it that his 
gentle spirit had been soured by the indifference 
shown, and chafed by the opposition he had met 
with? We cannot for an instant entertain that sup- 
position of him from whom all the execrations of 
his persecutors could only call forth this prayer: 
" Father, forgive them, for they know not what they 
do." 

Why, then, this indifference real or apparent? We 
think we can discover two considerations which when 
combined will explain this conduct. 

First, this woman was not of the commonwealth 
of Israel. She was by birth a Gentile, and had been 
trained to the practice of idolatry. Now, there is an 
order and a progression in the administration of God, 
of which we may not always see the meaning, but 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 



8 9 



which has always a reason in the wisdom and good- 
ness of God. In the good government of God it had 
been settled that the offer was to be made first to the 
Jews, to whom pertained " the adoption, the covenant, 
and the promises." Here we have the first instance 
of aid invoked of Jesus by one not a Jew by birth or 
by profession, or a worshipper of the true God. It 
was expedient, when the dispensation of grace was to 
go beyond Israel, to justify the first exercise of it by 
the urgency of the case, and also to save the credit 
and honor of the Jewish economy, and to connect it 
with and make it an introduction to the wider and 
more philanthropic system now to be introduced. 
When a Gentile is now to be admitted to the full 
blessings of the gospel, it is expedient to show that 
it is in consequence of faith being found in the 
applicant greater than that of the Jews. It was in 
order to call forth and manifest and strengthen this 
woman's faith, that our Lord put it to this trial. 

This was one reason to be found in the general 
providence of God. But this, it may be said, was 
scarcely a reason to this individual believer. We 
may, I think, discover another reason in the par- 
ticular providence of God. We sometimes hear 
people talking of there being a general but not a 
particular providence, meaning a general oversight 
of the whole, but not a particular providence over 
particular events and individual men. Now, I believe 
in both a general and a particular providence. I be- 
lieve that the two — the general and the particular — 



90 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



coincide and are the same. The providence of God 
becomes general by its embracing every particular. 
God has so arranged everything, that what is for the 
good of the whole is also for the good of every part ; 
what is for the good of the whole church is also for 
the good of every believer, and what is for the good 
of the individual believer is also for the good of the 
church at large. God has so ordered his providence 
that no one can face God and say, I have been obliged 
to suffer persecutions and humiliations which are not 
for my own good, but merely for that of the church 
or the world. To one using that language I would 
say, you know not yourself as you ought, or you 
would discover that these trials were also for your 
own good. They may also have some bearing on 
the church at large, or that of your circle, or your 
relatives and friends ; but they are also for your own 
advantage. So nicely adjusted, so delicately hung 
is the government of God, that the interest of every 
individual believer is linked with the good of all 
others. No man is required to suffer merely for the 
sake of others ; his crosses and disappointments 
may also be the means of promoting his own indi- 
vidual welfare. The Saviour answered her not a word ; 
not only because it was the ordinance of Heaven 
that the Gospel should first be proclaimed to the 
Jews, but further, because the delay in granting the 
request tended to draw forth and confirm her faith. 
As we proceed with the narrative we shall discover 
how this latter effect was produced. 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 



91 



In the mean time, I ask whether God has not 
seemed at some particular time or times to act in 
the same way towards you. Under feelings of excite- 
ment or of anxiety you spread out your case before 
God and cried for mercy. You had heard of the 
love of Jesus and the promises of the gospel so free 
and full, and you were sure of an immediate and 
sensible answer. You thought that God would at 
once give you peace, and put you in full possession 
of the joys of the Christian. But you find, instead, 
that fears are agitating you, that the conscience is 
reproaching you. In short, you discover no sensi- 
ble answer to your prayers. The heavens continue 
shut and silent. Jesus answers you not a word. 
Brethren, do not therefore doubt of the efficacy of 
prayer, as you may be tempted to do in such cir- 
cumstances, or of the power or mercy of Jesus. I 
beseech you to attend to the remainder of this nar- 
rative : it is written for your instruction and comfort. 

We almost expect to hear of the Canaanite losing 
all her faith and courage upon being met by this 
silent denial, which seemed more discouraging than 
an open refusal. She is not even dismissed with a 
word or look of interest in her case. We almost 
expect to find this afflicted woman hastening to her 
home in anger or despair, to bury her cares in soli- 
tude. But she gave way to no such temptations. As 
she thought of that home, it brought to her mind 
only the recollection of the incoherences of that 
frenzied daughter, once, it may be, her hope and 



9 2 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



pride. She knew that there was power in the Sav- 
iour; she believed that under an indifferent look 
there might be gentleness and love. Undeterred by 
obstacles, she continued crying even at the risk of 
receiving a second and more hopeless refusal. That 
refusal she received. 

SECOND REFUSAL. 

" His disciples came and besought him, saying, 
Send her away; for she crieth after us [y. 23]. 
But he answered and said, I am not sent but to 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Her cries, it 
would appear, had awakened some compassion in 
the hearts of the apostles, in spite of their narrow 
Jewish prejudices; but it does not seem as if they 
had raised any such feeling in the breast of Jesus. 
It looks as if when the disciples became intercessors, 
it was only to confirm his indifference, and make 
her case more hopeless. The prayer of the apostles 
procured what her cries had not, — an answer; but 
that answer seemed to shut and lock forever the 
door of mercy. " I am not sent but to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel." It is as if he had said, " I 
am sent, but not to thee; thou art lost, but I am 
not come to find thee; thou art comfortless, but I 
cannot be thy friend ; I am full of mercy, but it 
cannot be extended to thee. The decrees of heaven, 
the counsels of God, and the good of the church all 
forbid it." Ah, wretched woman ! ah, daughter of an 
accursed race ! thy cries are in vain, — they are fool- 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 



93 



ish; they only fret thy patience. You may cease 
from your wailings and return to your comfortless 
home to listen to the foolishness and to the chidings 
of your frenzied daughter. 

My friends, it is possible that God may seem in a 
time past, or at this present time, or at some future 
time, to act towards you in much the same way. 
When you .cry to him, so far from answering you, he 
may only be hiding his face in deeper clouds. You 
pray for light, but in looking round the whole hori- 
zon you do not discern a single streak ; you see only 
gathering and thickening darkness. You look for 
peace ; but instead, your aroused conscience tells you 
more emphatically of your sins. Nay, you find every- 
thing against you, — temptations laid in your way, and 
fate as it were opposing you. You hear as it were 
God saying that he cannot receive you ; that his 
decree is against you. Oh, my friends, when you 
are thus tempted to despair, and to cast yourselves 
away in the thought that you are lost at any rate, 
we beseech you to follow a little farther the conduct 
of this woman! The narrative is exactly suited to 
your case, and may providentially be cast in your 
way. 

For you observe that this second cold reception 
did not damp the courage of this wonderful woman. 
It required, indeed, some ingenuity to discover that 
our Lord's language did not imply an absolute and 
unalterable denial : " I am not sent but to the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel." It required some 



94 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



sagacity as well as strong faith to discover that the 
words did not render all further entreaty utterly 
vain. But it has often been remarked that earnest- 
ness always rouses and quickens all the energies of 
the mind. How often have I found a young man 
coming to the use of his faculties for the first time 
when visited with some affliction, say on his being 
crossed by some disappointment in life, — by the 
death of a father, or the loss of some long-expected 
honor ; at such a crisis he was made to feel his po- 
sition, and to devote his whole soul to the recovering 
his ground. Thus it is that I have seen conversion, 
that is, faith, awaken the powers that before lay dor- 
mant. If it does not strengthen the natural faculties 
of the mind, it at least directs them better and with 
force towards a higher end. True, she might argue 
that Jesus was not sent with the precise view of 
preaching to the Gentiles ; but he was a son, not a 
servant, and might extend his commission into other 
and not inconsistent fields. True, he was not sent, 
but could he refuse one who came to him? She may 
have read in the Old Testament of Elijah visiting 
these coasts and blessing a poor widow of Zarephath, 
and she may have heard of Elisha curing the leprosy 
of the Syrian captain. She may have heard of the 
success of the woman of Samaria, to whom, though 
she was not of the seed of Abraham, Jesus had given 
living water. Whether she thought of all these things 
or no, her case was urgent, and she persevered in her 
quest. She may have had hope raised and sustained 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 95 



by that very one who seemed to be so frowning upon 
her. Thinking that before, while she cried for her- 
self and her daughter, she may have been deficient 
and guilty in not paying the adoration and worship 
that were due to him with whom she was dealing, 
" Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, 
help me." But even this prostration and this adora- 
tion were unavailing. Her importunity only led to a 

THIRD REFUSAL, 

in which there seemed to be not only coldness 
and indifference, but even harshness and contempt. 
(v. 26) " It is not meet to take the children's bread 
and cast it to dogs." Before, Jesus seemed to tell her 
of the impossibility of extending mercy to her, but 
now he speaks to her in the language of disdain. 
The Jews children, and her race dogs ! What lan- 
guage to come from the promised Saviour ! Ah, ill- 
fated woman, thy complaints bring no pity; they 
only expose thee to insults. Better at once return to 
thy home and listen to the idle tale, the wild merri- 
ment or sadness of thy frenzied daughter, than thus 
expose thyself in public to one who adds reproach 
to misery, and contempt to suffering. 

Possibly some of you, my friends, have gone as far 
as this woman in begging mercy from God. You 
have come to him again and again for peace and 
assurance and comfort, but he seems to be taking 
no notice of you. Your prayers vanish into air like 



9 6 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



your breath, and bring no return. He has answered 
you not a word. You persevered only to find that 
instead of encouraging you he has only placed diffi- 
culties in your way. Overcoming these, you bowed 
yourself more reverently, but he has only made you 
feel your own weakness. You expected to be deliv- 
ered from fear and all sense of sin, only to find your 
convictions more numerous and poignant. Instead 
of being able to look on your sins as cast into the 
depths of the sea, you see them rising before you as 
waves swelling one beyond the other. You begin 
to doubt whether you can be saved at all, your sins 
are of so deep a dye, and God is so charging you 
with them. You come to the conclusion that never 
so great a sinner has been saved. There may, my 
friends, be something hopeful in these dark views of 
sin which God is giving you. Do not, we implore 
you, give yourselves up for lost, or allow yourselves 
to be tempted into hopelessness and ungodliness. 
This is the issue to which Satan would drive you ; 
but this is not the end designed by Jesus in dealing 
with you. Look once more to this earnest woman. 
Prove the Lord this other time, and see if he will not 
open the windows of heaven and pour out a bless- 
ing so that there will not be room to receive it. 

In the answer of the Canaanite we have another 
illustration of the acuteness and sagacity which true 
faith communicates. She knows that Jesus would 
never apply to her language which she did not 
deserve. What other epithet could she merit, who 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 97 

had worshipped dumb images and broken the holy 
law of God? She acknowledges the fitness of the 
Divine procedure, more particularly in the plan of 
communicating salvation through the Jews. She puts 
in her plea on that very plan, and on the very sup- 
position that she is unworthy. She avails herself 
of the distinction which our Lord had pointed out, 
and in a reply unsurpassed for simplicity, aptness, 
and beauty by any handed down to us from any 
age of the world, she said, " Truth, Lord, but 
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the 
children's table." First, she had implored; she con- 
tinued to implore in spite of discouragement; now, 
she worships and implores : she pays becoming rev- 
erence, and pleads, having all the essential parts of 
prayer in this brief sentence. She honors Christ's 
truth and faithfulness, " Truth, Lord," and yet re- 
fers to his abundant grace, and argues from the very 
abundance of the grace that there would be enough 
for her. Her view was much the same with that of 
the prodigal when he came to himself, and in the 
midst of his misery began to remember his father's 
house, and to think that there was in it bread enough 
and to spare. It is as if she had said, I am unworthy, 
you might justly cast me off in disdain, but with 
the Lord there is plenteous redemption; there is 
enough and to spare on that table which thou hast 
furnished in the wilderness; enough of the very 
richest dainties for all thy children, and crumbs to 
fall to a poor sinner such as I am. 



9 8 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Behold now the blessed result {v. 28): " Jesus 
answered and said, Great is thy faith: be it unto 
thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was 
made whole from that very hour." Jesus sent 
her away not only with the assurance that her 
daughter was cured, but with an increase of saving 
faith. This woman would have been contented with 
the crumbs, with the healing of her daughter; but 
Christ took her to his table and gave a feast to 
her soul. She came for one blessing, and she 
went away with two ; the one that was added 
being greater than that which she asked. She 
was like the paralytic who was brought to have his 
body healed, and went away with his sins pardoned 
also. So true is it that God blesses his people ex- 
ceeding abundantly above what they can ask or 
think. This woman returned to her household re- 
joicing in spirit to welcome her daughter, now in 
the vigor of health, in the sprightliness of youth, and 
in soundness of mind, and the first time for years 
pouring forth the affection of a daughter into the 
delighted ear of a mother who had so long received 
no intelligent answer in return. As the two spoke 
of the breaking of the fetters which had bound soul 
and body, would the mother not also speak of an- 
other and a spiritual thraldom held over the soul 
by Satan, and of another freedom, — the freedom of 
those whom the truth has made free? Would she not 
tell how Jesus in releasing the daughter from one 
bondage had relieved the mother from another and 



THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 



99 



a more fearful ; and would she not recommend this 
other as infinitely the more precious of the two? 
And in speaking and recommending to her daughter 
that Saviour who had visited their coasts, would she 
complain of his rudeness and harshness? Would 
she not rather dwell on the glorious issue, in the 
blessing conveyed both to mother and daughter? 
Ever in her future life, when her spirit was harassed 
by trial or oppressed with fear, she would remember 
how the Lord had dealt with her, and the recollec- 
tion would bear her up and cheer her through life 
and in death, till she was taken up to everlasting 
fellowship with Jesus in heaven. 

1. We see the advantage of sincerity. This woman 
was in earnest, and therefore she succeeded. Many 
are not sincere in the petitions they put up. They 
would be disappointed if their prayers were answered. 
They pray for grace to make them better, but they 
do not wish to be made better. They ask for holi- 
ness, but they do not wish to become holy. Oh 
that we had but a little of that earnestness in asking 
which Christ has in beseeching us to accept! Oh 
that we the beggars had a little of that eagerness 
which the benefactor has in pressing his gifts upon 
us ! If we only had this, he would bless us above 
what we can ask or think. 

2. We see the need of importunity. The kingdom 
of heaven is taken by violence. We are not to give 
up because of one or two or three seeming denials. 
We are to ask, — how long ? till we receive. We 



100 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



are to seek, — how long? till we find. We are to 
knock, — how long? until it be opened unto us. 
We say to you who may have asked without feeling 
that you have got an answer, " You should have 
asked more earnestly and repeatedly." We are to 
wrestle with God, as Jacob did, " until the breaking 
of the day," until " the day dawn, and the day-star 
arise in our hearts." 



MAN'S TENDENCY TO TRUST IN HIS OWN 
RIGHTEOUSNESS. 



For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going 
about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted 
themselves unto the righteousness of God. — Rom. x. 3. 



AN by nature is constantly laboring under two 



He feels that he is under law to God. He knows 
that there is a power above him to which he is sub- 
ject, — a God to whom he must give an account. 
The thought is ever pressed upon him, and he can- 
not be rid of it. He may try to deliver himself from 
it, and to claim an absolute independence of all au- 
thority. But ever and anon there is a check laid 
upon him. He is made to see that there is a moral 
law asserting its claims, commanding him to do this 
and avoid that. He may refuse to obey it, only to 
find that it imposes a penalty in the shape of a 
reproach of conscience, or of a disappointment, the 
thwarting of his plans, or some kind of suffering. 
He may not notice it in the day, with its glare, its 
bustle, and its pleasures ; but it will be apt to steal 




somewhat conflicting feelings. 



I. 



102 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



upon him in the quiet and silence of the night. He 
may drown its voice by the noise of folly, but it 
will take its revenge when the hour of reflection 
comes, and he has to look back on the past or for- 
ward to the future. Under this feeling every man is 
made to realize that he should appear before God 
to offer him something, say worship and adoration, 
— gifts as a thank-offering, and specially obedience 
as due to the governor. The presentiment is deep : 
" so then every one must give an account of himself 
to God." 

II. 

There is a fear in every one that his conduct can- 
not stand a sifting inspection. So he has an appre- 
hension at times that the power above him may be 
a power hostile to him. We are obliged to look 
on God and on his law as holy, just, and good. We 
know that this law requires us to love God with all 
our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves. We are 
conscious that we have not done this, — that we have 
not loved God, that we have not loved our fellow- 
men, as we should have done. Our own consciences 
condemn us, and we cannot but see that God, who 
is above our conscience and who is purer than our 
conscience, must also condemn us. So we shrink 
from the law with its brightness, from God with his 
purity, as weak eyes do from the light. "When I 
remembered God, I was troubled." We are troubled, 
as the boy is by the presence of his father whose 



SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. 



103 



command he has just disobeyed ; as we are troubled, 
or ought to be troubled, by the accusations of one 
whom we have injured. We strive to press down 
the thought, as bringing up our sins before us, and 
as lowering us in our own estimation; but it will 
rise up in spite of all our efforts to suppress it. So 
in consequence of the pressure of these two feelings 
on each other a third feeling is brought forth. This 
may be one or other of two sorts. 

III. 

We may banish God and his law from our thoughts. 
This may be our first impulse. We act as the child 
does who first disobeys his father and then flees 
from him ; runs away from his house to hide himself, 
or engages in some employment in which he may 
earn a livelihood and be independent. It was thus 
that Cain, after having yielded to guilty passion and 
slain his brother, went out from the presence of the 
Lord, — that is, as I understand it, left the place 
where God made his presence specially known, 
where our first parents had the family altar and 
worshipped, and became a fugitive and a vagabond, 
engaging himself in building a city and other enter- 
prises, but banished from the face of God, with the 
brand on his brow and without peace in his heart. 
It was thus that Jonah, the rebellious prophet, refused 
to obey God when commanded to declare God's 
message to Nineveh, where he would have met with 



104 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



opposition and endangered his life, and then tried 
to flee from God by betaking himself to a ship of 
Tarshish, which he expected to carry him away to a 
heathen country where might be nothing to remind 
him of God and of his sin. It is thus that men first 
disobey God, and then go out from his presence, 
and flee from him, and betake themselves to scenes 
which may engross their minds and enable them to 
forget God and the duty they owe to him. True, 
they will not be able to banish God altogether from 
their thoughts. There will be times when God ap- 
pears to them, to allure them or to warn them ; but, 
alas ! they do not wish to be disturbed, and they 
pray to him, as the Gadarenes did, when Jesus visited 
them, to " depart out of their coasts ; " and he left 
them, never to return. How much happier those 
who are caught as Jonah was by winds and waves, 
and made to come back to the place from which 
they fled, and to the work which they refused at 
first to undertake ! 

But there is another class of people who act in a 
different and in an equally unworthy manner. These 
are specially referred to in our text. 

IV 

They are going about to establish their own right- 
eousness. Those of whom I now speak, and to 
whom I am now speaking, know that God requires 
his intelligent, his moral and responsible creatures 



SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. 



105 



to give obedience to his law, which is the royal law 
of love, and to present this as a righteousness in 
order to be accepted of God. In the ancient church 
the worshipper did not come empty-handed; he 
brought of the first fruit of the ground and the first- 
lings of his flocks. So the intelligent creature must 
present a righteousness. According to the first cov- 
enant every man was to work out a righteousness 
for himself. But man has failed in this; he is not 
able to present a perfect obedience. He has only 
to search himself, and look with candor on his con- 
duct, to discover that he has sinned. But then he 
would do better in future. He would make amends 
for the evil he has done. So he begins the work, and 
is going on with it. He is diligent in the work, and 
he is persevering. He is going abotit, is the expres- 
sive phrase, to establish a righteousness of his own. 
Perhaps one laborious act after another is undertaken 
to accomplish this end. From day to day there is 
an anxiety to add act upon act to make up the sum. 
Possibly I may be speaking to the experience of 
some now present. Certainly I am speaking, as I 
commonly do in my preaching, from my own ex- 
perience and to my own experience. 

Let us view the self-righteous man as he goes 
about so diligently in working out a righteousness 
of his own. Let us listen to him as he talks to him- 
self, not in words which others can hear, but in the 
chamber of his thoughts. Every supposed righteous 
deed is followed by a supplement or echo ; How ex- 



io6 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



cellent is this deed ; how good I am ! When he does 
a smart act, he as it were says, How clever I am ! 
When he makes a shrewd remark, How wise I am ! 
When he ventures on a bold act, How great my 
courage ! is the language which expresses what he 
feels. He is led to relieve distress, and it is followed 
by the thought, How tender-hearted I am ! He is 
able to give a sum, it may be a small one, in charity, 
and he congratulates himself on being so benevolent. 
He engages in a religious service, and then feels that 
he is so pious. He rises from his knees and he re- 
tires from the house of God and the religious meet- 
ing satisfied with himself, and feeling as if he had 
laid up some merit of supererogation. The business 
man, the lawyer, the doctor, the farmer, the trades- 
man, the very minister of religion, when they are 
successful in what they do, are tempted to take the 
whole credit to themselves, and give no praise to 
God, who has given them continued life and health 
and friends and opportunities. The self-righteous 
man thus passes through life, like the statues of the 
gods in the processions of the heathen temples, lis- 
tening to an anthem of praise in favor of his own 
virtues. 

This self-righteousness is all along offensive to God. 
As it is cherished, it becomes a conceit of ourselves 
and of our supposed good deeds, and this is apt 
to be offensive to our fellow-men. It shows itself 
in a haughty look and manner, in boastings and 
swelling words, and in the perpetual narratives of our 



SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. 



107 



ability and prowess. Knowing that mankind gen- 
erally do not like to hear people praising themselves, 
there are some who have the prudence to restrain 
the manifestations of their self-adulation ; still, it is 
there in the bosom, ready to burst out from time to 
time and expose the parties to dislike and it may 
be to ridicule. The true way to undermine this 
offensive conceit is to remove that self-righteous, 
self- adulatory spirit from which it proceeds. 

It is recorded in the life of the author of a once 
very popular book, Hervey's " Meditations among 
the Tombs," that as he was walking in his parish he 
fell in with one of his people engaged in ploughing, 
and addressed him to the effect that it was our first 
duty at once to abandon our sins. The ploughman 
answered, "There is a prior duty; and that is, to 
abandon the trust in our own righteousness." There 
was true philosophy in this. As long as we are trust- 
ing in our own righteousness we have little motive to 
search out our sins and destroy them. Let a man 
feel that his deeds are as filthy rags before God, that 
they cannot justify him, and then he will be disposed 
to give them up and seek for a better clothing. To 
part with a trust in our supposed good works is a first 
step towards our undertaking truly good works. 

This self-righteous spirit is that of the Pharisees, 
so severely condemned by our Lord. It is embodied 
in the prayer, " Lord, I thank thee, because I am 
not as other men, or as this publican." It was the 
spirit of the Stoic sect, which seized on some of the 



io8 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



highest minds in ancient Greece and Rome. The 
Stoics were in many respects the highest moralists 
of heathen antiquity. The meditations of the great 
emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus contain very 
lofty moral precepts, but his ethics are self-righteous 
throughout ; the good man stands before God in 
the strength of his own merits. This being so, we 
can understand how the philosophers of this school 
should have been unwilling to submit to the hum- 
bling doctrines of the Cross, which require us to 
trust in the righteousness of another. We can under- 
stand how the self-righteous Stoics should have 
joined with the pleasure-loving Epicureans in op- 
posing Paul's preaching at Athens. We can thus 
explain what seems to many so curious, that Marcus 
Aurelius, with all his morality, should have perse- 
cuted the Christians, it seemed so unworthy that the 
Christians should have trusted in any righteousness 
but their own. 

What a humiliation must it have been to Saul of 
Tarsus, when he was arrested on the road to Damas- 
cus, when not only his person but his pride was 
cast down to the ground. He was full of a sense 
of his own merits and importance. He regarded 
himself as prosecuting an excellent cause in putting 
down the new sect of the Christians. He was con- 
fidently expecting to reach thereby the very highest 
moral eminence, and to have a title to the greatest 
rewards in this life and in the life to come. How was 
all this loftiness and self-sufficiency brought low when 



SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. 



109 



he heard the voice addressed to him : " Saul, Saul, 
why persecutest thou me ? " He expected to enter 
Damascus in the exercise of high authority to extin- 
guish the new sect which preached repentance and 
humility. He had, instead, to be led into that city 
blind and helpless ; and he got relief only from one 
of those whom he meant to put into prison. But 
his humiliation was a step necessary in order to his 
exaltation. From this spot where he fell to the 
ground he rose up and started on a new career, and 
produced a mightier effect on the character of the 
world than all the philosophers of Greece, than all 
the conquerors of Rome. And how was he able to 
accomplish this? What was the secret of his strength? 
He gave up trusting in his own righteousness, and 
went forward in the strength of Him who there and 
then conquered him, and thereby enabled him to 
conquer himself, and sent him forth to proclaim a 
doctrine which conquered the Roman world. Every 
man needs to pass through such a crisis if he would 
have his natural self-righteousness humbled. Those 
who feel that they do not need it, are those who 
need it most; they do not feel their want, because 
they are so puffed up with their self-sufficiency. It 
is for his good that every man should be humbled 
before God, that he should be humbled in his own 
eyes, and it may be in the view of his fellow-men. 
When he is humbled, then is he exalted. 

As long as the man is cherishing a self-righteous 
spirit, he feels himself hindered and restrained on 



no 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



all hands. He cherishes a sense of merit, and yet 
is not satisfied. He makes new and greater exertions, 
only to find that they do not come up to the full 
requirements of the law. 

Perhaps there are some here who are trying to 
stand on their own merit, or to save themselves. They 
fall into some folly ; but then, they will make amends, 
they will restore themselves. Alas ! it may be only to 
stumble and fall again. Meanwhile, there is nothing 
in their efforts to make atonement for the sins which 
they acknowledge to have committed, to bring for- 
giveness from God or impart peace of conscience. 
The unforgiven sin will ever trouble the sinner till 
it is forgiven. 

Perhaps there are some here who think to keep 
the whole law in the letter and the spirit of it. They 
proceed to do this earnestly, systematically, for hours, 
for days, for years, for half a lifetime. But there will 
be times when, in spite of their unwillingness to do so, 
they will be obliged to search into the nature and 
character of this obedience, and they will be forced 
to feel that there is something defective in it, — in 
the deed, or the motive from which it springs. They 
will realize at least that there is nothing in it to 
make atonement for the sins of which they have been 
guilty. But they will make one other struggle, and a 
great struggle. Then they look to see if the law is 
satisfied, and find they have to say, " I sought to do 
this," but " thy commandment is exceeding broad." 
Let us consider how broad it is. It requires love, 



SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. 



Ill 



supreme love to God. We are to love the Lord with 
all our hearts ; but the man finds that his obedience 
has not come up to this standard. It requires equal 
love to our fellow-men : " Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself; " but his love does not come up 
to this mark, and he is conscious of cases in which 
he has been guilty of selfishness or ill-will. What 
is he to do in these circumstances, — submit to pri- 
vations, to tortures, to make atonement for trans- 
gressions? He will soon find these cannot make 
amends to the broken law, or give peace of con- 
science. Better at once give up the hopeless con- 
test. The man climbs and climbs, in order to reach 
the summit, only to see it standing above him with 
dizzy precipices, and rocks ready to fall on him and 
crush him, with lightnings and thunders and tempests 
like Sinai. Better, I say, at once submit, and instead 
of the prayer of the Pharisee put up the prayer of 
the publican, " God be merciful to me a sinner." 

As long as we are cherishing the legal spirit, the 
soul is as it were ice-bound, as the earth is in winter. 
When the ground is thus chilled with frost and cov- 
ered with snow, we might try to soften the hardness 
and remove the cold by shovelling away the frost 
and snow. But there is a better way. Let us have 
the returning sun of spring, with its heat and its 
genial breath, and the coldness will disappear, and 
the earth will array itself in the loveliest green. So 
when we feel our hearts to be chilled and hardened, 
let us seek that the light of God's countenance shine 



112 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



upon us, and the hardness will be dissolved, and 
the graces of peace and love will flow forth as the 
streams do in spring. 

There may be some here sincerely anxious in a 
desire to become good, but they are hindered by a 
narrowness of heart and an aversion to spiritual things. 
They wonder how this should be. If they search suf- 
ficiently far down, they may find the cause of the 
whole in a self-righteous spirit unconsciously cher- 
ished. Can we bring water out of the rock? We 
shall find that we cannot ; but when spoken to in the 
name of God, waters will flow out, as they did at Horeb. 
And now the bosom, pained though it may have been, 
finds relief. We have heard of the sorrowful spirit 
after the eyes had continued long dry, finding relief 
in a flood of tears. We have seen an angry sky dis- 
charging itself in showers, and then smiling in peace 
and loveliness. Of a like nature is the relief given 
when the soul, after having trusted in its own right- 
eousness, casts itself on Jesus. The crowded bosom 
now finds an outlet, the confined heart experiences 
enlargement, and the fettered spirit is free. The feel- 
ings are now poured forth from the broken heart, 
like the ointment from the alabaster box when the 
woman that was a sinner broke it and poured the 
ointment on the feet of Jesus, and the odor was 
diffused around. So now we love much because 
much has been forgiven us. This love goes forth 
in what is called new obedience. 



THE 



RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 



Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is 
covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth 
not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I 
kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the 
day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me : 
my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowl- 
edged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I 
said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord ; and thou 
forgavest the iniquity of my sin. — Ps. xxxii. 1-5. 



HIS is a psalm of praise ; but of praise on the 



part of one who has come through a certain 
experience which is detailed for our benefit. 



The Psalmist had kept silence. There is a time to 
keep silence. It may be when God is speaking in 
the wonders which he works and the judgments 
which he inflicts; it is then our duty to listen. We 
read (Rev. viii. 1) that "there was silence in heaven 
about the space of half an hour." How long this 
half-hour in heaven's time lasted in earth's time we 
cannot tell, for heaven's chronometer is not the same 
with ours. " With the Lord one day is as a thousand 
years, and a thousand years as one day." This silence 




I. 



8 



H4 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



in heaven was on the occasion of the opening of the 
seventh seal, when the seven angels which had the 
seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound ; " and 
there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, 
and an earthquake." In the works of Nature there is 
silence when all things proceed regularly and be- 
nignantly. The sun, moon, and stars move, and the 
plants grow and bud and blossom, without noise. 
Silence is broken when things become deranged, and 
the tempest raves, and thunders utter their voices 
in order to restore the equilibrium. There is a time 
for man to be silent, when all is as it should be, and 
he has nothing to do but admire and adore. But 
there is a time for man to speak, and he cannot 
hold his peace without committing sin; there are 
calls, loud calls on the part of duty and of God, for 
man to speak out. When God is displaying his 
grandeur and crowning us with loving-kindness, then 
should our heart be filled with adoration and grati- 
tude, and our mouth with praise. " Let the people 
praise thee, let all the people praise thee, from the 
rising of the sun to the going down thereof." There 
are times when man cannot keep silence without con- 
tracting guilt. Living beings are exposed to danger, 
are rushing over a precipice, and we must needs 
warn them. Evil principles are inculcated, and we 
must meet the error. Evil practices are committed, 
and we must denounce them. Our children and those 
intrusted to our care are in danger of being seduced 
into sin, and we have to admonish them. Our friends 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 1 1 5 

and companions are walking in the wrong path, and 
we should seek to bring them back. To refuse to 
speak in such circumstances is cowardice, and in- 
volves criminality. 

It is clear that the Psalmist, in keeping silence, 
had been doing wrong. We can gather what it was 
that made him restrain utterance, and gave him such 
painfulness. We argue it from the way by which 
he got deliverance when he spoke out. He said, " I 
acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity 
have I not hid. I said, I will confess my trans- 
gressions unto the Lord." Sin had been committed, 
and the fruits were fermenting and fomenting in his 
bosom, gendering turmoil and breeding corruption. 
For a time he allowed it to dwell there, even as the 
Canaanites who had not been extirpated were al- 
lowed to dwell in the land of Caanan after the chil- 
dren of Israel had conquered it. " The Canaanites 
would dwell in that land; yet it came to pass when 
Israel was strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute." 
So sin will dwell in our souls, and we fondle and turn 
it into a means of enjoyment. We have not the 
courage to look at these sins as sins, and to cast 
them out from what ought to be the temple of the 
Lord. We try as far as possible not even to notice 
them. We prefer thinking of our supposed excel- 
lences, of the good deeds we have done, of our 
talents, courage, prowess, generosity, and roll these 
as a sweet morsel under our tongue. We decline 
thinking on the abuse made of the gifts bestowed 



Il6 GOSPEL SERMONS. 

on us, — on our ingratitude, ungodliness, our lusts 
cherished, our envy, our evil temper, our selfishness. 
There will be times, indeed, when these iniquities are 
forced upon our attention by the accusations of con- 
science or the reproaches of our fellow-men, or by 
the troubles into which they bring us. But on these 
occasions we put ourselves on the defensive and parry 
off the attack; and when these weapons of defence 
are wrested from us, then we bring excuses and urge 
palliations referring to extenuating circumstances, or 
pleading seductions, or pointing to the fairer side of 
the offence, to the pleasure it gave, or the kindness 
or frankness which characterized it. Under such 
pretexts as these we keep silence when we should 
speak out, when we should confess the sin and 
acknowledge the transgression, cast them out from 
our hearts and slay them before the Lord. 

II. 

When he kept silence he was troubled. He expresses 
himself strongly: "When I kept silence, my bones 
waxed old through my roaring all the day long. 
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me : 
my moisture is turned into the drought of summer." 
There is a wasting of the strength ; the " bones," 
the emblem of strength, " wax old." The same effect 
is produced as by a fever, in which there may be 
fierce struggling followed by exhaustion. The fire 
cannot get exit, and smoulders; and it burns and 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 117 

blackens and consumes all within. There is no ar- 
ticulate voice, no confession to give relief, and so 
there is a " roaring all the day long," — the roaring 
as of a bull that is beaten, as of wind in a confined 
cavern, as of water boiling in a whirlpool. " All 
the day long," as the troubling element cannot find 
an outlet by which to discharge itself. In all this 
there may be more than mere human powers, than 
mere outbursts of feeling ; there may be the hand of 
God lying heavy upon us. " Day and night." Yes ; 
in the brightest day there may be the discharge of 
thunder from heaven. When I say, " My bed shall 
comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint, 
then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me 
through visions : so that my soul chooseth strangling, 
and death rather than life. I loathe it ; I would not 
live alway; let me alone; for my days are vanity." 
God is speaking in awful tones as at Sinai, with 
fire and blackness and darkness and tempest ; or in 
tender tones through his Son, who did not strive, but 
was gentle unto all men, saying, " Come unto me, 
all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest." But when there is " the sound of a 
trumpet and the voice of words," — it may be that 
when they thus hear the voice " they entreat that 
the word should not be spoken to them any more, 
for they cannot endure that which is commanded." 
There is a fight like that which we have witnessed 
between wild beasts in a cage from which none of 
of them can escape. God's hand is heavy upon us. 



u8 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



God speaks. He speaks in the conscience, saying, 
this deed, this thought was evil. He speaks in the 
Word, saying, " The wages of sin is death." He 
speaks to us by his Spirit, striving to subdue the 
resistance. But the ear is stopped, that it may not 
hear; or when the voice is so loud that it cannot 
but be heard, no attention is paid to it, or it is openly 
disobeyed. There is now a terrible conflict. " The 
sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of 
hell gat hold of me: I found trouble and sorrow.'* 
There is a voice commanding, but there is a deter- 
mined effort to drown it, as loud and dismal as the 
sound of the gong which was used in Mexico to 
drown the cry of the tortured and bleeding human 
victims on the altar. What earnestness in the voice 
demanding, the voice entreating ! but there is equal 
earnestness in the struggles resisting, and the hatred 
resenting. No wonder that " the moisture is turned 
into the drought of summer." For in such a wring- 
ing of the soul all life and hope are apt to be crushed 
out. The terrible heat, exceeding that of a tropical 
sun, burns up every living thing. The soul is left 
as an arid waste, without a scrap of vegetation. " He 
turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs 
into dry ground ; a fruitful land into barrenness, for 
the wickedness of them that dwell therein." The 
heart resisting, and bent on turning back, is turned 
like Lot's wife into a pillar of salt, hard and acid; 
and it stands a visible memorial of the mercy of God 
despised, and looks as if it never could be melted. 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 119 

" Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about 
in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, 
and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an exam- 
ple, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Is this 
stone of obstinacy and bitterness to stand there for- 
ever? Blessed be God, if there be a fire that hardens, 
there is a fire that melts. Let us pray, " Oh that thou 
wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come 
down, that* the mountains might flow down at thy 
presence, as when the melting fire burnetii." Let us 
observe the blessed issue. 

III. 

The Psalmist confesses his sins. " I acknowledged 
my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. 
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the 
Lord." 

IV. 

The Psalmist had his sins forgiven. " Thou for- 
gavest the iniquity of my sin." I mean to treat of 
these two topics very much together. 

When God's hand is laid heavily upon us, the 
object is to bring us down to our knees by the 
weight of it. So far as mere natural feelings and 
wishes are engaged in the struggle, they are busily 
employed in resisting each other, and thereby pro- 
ducing disturbance. But God's hand is heavy, and 
may be laid on so heavily that it overcomes all op- 



120 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



position. This is the work to which our Lord refers 
when he promises when he " is come, he will re- 
prove [or convince] the world of sin," adding, " of 
sin, because they believe not on me." The man 
has been made to see the dreadfuiness of his con- 
dition, as it is in itself, as he feels it to be, and as 
it is in the sight of God. By the power above him 
and pressing on him he is made to yield and submit. 
He gives way under the hand laid heavily upon him, 
and which is pressing him down to his very knees. 
He is thus brought low that he may venture to look 
up. As he does so, he sees a reconciled face irra- 
diated with smiles, and hears a voice pleading with 
him and beseeching him. But will the holy and 
offended God be gracious? May he not try him 
and prove him? Be the result what it may, he will 
venture. The pain, the discomfort, the misery are 
pressing him. The face is smiling, the voice is plead- 
ing. "Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he 
be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone 
for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath 
God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger 
shut up his tender mercies?" He cannot, he will not 
believe it. "And I said, This is my infirmity: but I 
will remember the years of the right hand of the 
Most High." He can keep silence no longer. He 
feels that he must speak out. The power above and 
a power within constrain him. His dumb struggles, 
his senseless roaring are turned into an articulate 
voice: "Jesus, have mercy on me." The crisis 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 121 

has come; the battle is fought; the victory is won. 
"What must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." In 
obedience, the soul answers, " Lord, I believe ; help 
thou mine unbelief." " What, Lord, wouldst thou 
have me to do? " Repent and believe. The assent of 
the mind is gained, and the consent of the heart is 
added. " With the heart the man believeth, and with 
the tongue he maketh confession." The silence, so 
sulky, is broken : " I acknowledged my sin unto thee, 
and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will con- 
fess my transgressions unto the Lord." This voice 
of confession bursting the imprisoned heart pierces 
the clouds that have hitherto enveloped the heavens, 
and reaches the ear of the Father, and simultaneously 
there is a voice: "Thy sins are forgiven thee." 
"And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." 

There are not a few misapprehensions as to the 
nature of this forgiveness. Even those who know 
and feel that they need it, often do not know the 
way in which to find it, and so have to say, " Oh that 
I knew where I might find him ! " They have sinned, 
and so they acknowledge that they need forgiveness. 
But then they will repent, and so earn it. They have 
sinned, but they will make amends by their future 
conduct. They will pay for their pardon, and thus 
have a claim upon it. They will confess their trans- 
gressions unto the Lord, and this will make an of- 
fended God propitious. But it is not thus that God 
dispenses pardon, bartering it for something given 



122 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



or done by us, and thus allowing us merit and a 
sense of merit. The forgiveness has been earned, 
has been bought by a great price by Christ's own 
blood, but it cannot be purchased by us by any 
works, by any sacrifices. It is presented as a free 
gift, and must be so accepted. 

Few men are so ignorant or so hardened as to 
maintain that they have never committed sin. All 
who believe in a holy God must admit that they 
need forgiveness from him who cannot look on sin 
but with hatred and abhorrence. But men are not 
willing to part with a sense of merit. They will 
have the grace, but they must have some credit in 
it. So they will work, to make up for past neglect 
of work. They shall suffer for their sins, and so 
make atonement for them. They will submit and 
confess, and so appease the wrath of God. So they 
mix up their own righteousness with the righteous- 
ness of Christ. They will work, acknowledging their 
work to be imperfect, but expecting to have it per- 
fected by the work of Christ. They will do so much, 
and Christ, out of pity for their weakness, will do the 
rest. Thus many toil for long years, for a lifetime, 
to work out a righteousness of their own. This is the 
avowed doctrine of the Church of Rome. Men must 
work, they say, and Christ's work will make theirs 
acceptable. But, my friends, peace can never be had 
on such a plan; for on it persons can never be sure 
that they have wrought enough to be received. After 
toiling for years in business, in study, in prayer, in 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 1 23 

attendance on the forms of religion, they are made 
to feel that something is wanting. After climbing 
so long they see the unapproachable height above 
them unreached and frowning upon them like Sinai 
with thunders and lightnings. After saying, " I have 
seen an end of all perfection," they are obliged to 
add, " but thy commandment is exceedingly broad," 
far beyond our power to compass it. But in all this 
we are setting up another gospel which is not the 
gospel of the grace of God. " For they, being ig- 
norant of God's righteousness, and going about to 
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted 
themselves to the righteousness of God." Cease, I 
beseech you, from these efforts to construct a right- 
eousness of your own which will not amalgamate 
with the righteousness of Christ, and the idol you 
set up is like the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar: 
the toes being part of iron and part of clay, which 
did not cleave one to another, and the whole was 
" broken to pieces together, and became like the 
chaff of the summer threshing-floors, and no place 
was found for them." The gospel of God is not, 
Do so much, and Christ will complete your work; 
but it is on this wise: The work is completed. 
Christ could say, ere he died, "It is finished; " and 
now he says, " Son, daughter, be of good cheer, thy 
sins be forgiven thee." " Thou forgavest the iniquity 
of my sin." 

We thus see the relation between the two things 
mentioned in this passage, — the confession of sin, 



124 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and the forgiveness of sin. We are not to understand 
that the confession can merit the forgiveness. The 
confession can no more merit the forgiveness than the 
forgiveness can merit the confession. Both are gifts of 
God, and so bound together that you cannot have 
the one without the other. An old author represents 
Christ as coming to us with a gift in each hand. In 
the one hand he holds out forgiveness, free forgive- 
ness; in the other hand he holds out repentance 
and confession. If we begin to say, "We are very 
willing to take the one of these ; we know we have 
sinned, and are most anxious to have the forgive- 
ness; but as to this wringing repentance and its 
proper fruit, a humbling confession, we wish to 
avoid them," then Christ will give us neither. But 
if in simple faith we will only take both, we shall 
receive both "without money and without price." 
At the same instant that we break silence and 
cry in faith for mercy, Heaven also breaks the 
awful silence, and the mercy is bestowed and 
received. 

There is an evident propriety in connecting the 
two — the forgiveness and confession — by a link 
which cannot be broken. The forgiveness cannot be 
had when there is no repentance and no confession. 
Till it is cast out by acknowledgment, the sin will 
abide in the heart as a dead load to sink it, as a 
putrid mass to corrupt it. It is when we acknowledge 
and cast out our transgressions that we find them for- 
given. And what a relief to be thus delivered from 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 12$ 

the burden ! Such is the blessedness, when we give 
up the struggling, the "roaring all the day long," and 
break the silence; peace descends as a shower and 
waters the soul as a river. " The sorrows of death 
compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold of me : 
I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the 
name of the Lord ; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver 
my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous ; yea, 
our God is merciful." You remember that on a day 
much to be remembered in ancient Israel, the high 
priest, representing the people, and in the view of the 
people, did confess the sins of the children of Israel 
over the head of a scape-goat, which was immediately 
after led away into the wilderness and supposed to 
bear away the sins of the people. So let us confess 
the sins of the past, that they may not lie as a burden 
upon us, — the sins of our youth and the sins of our 
riper years, the sins of our thoughts, the sins of our 
tempers, the sins of our feelings, the sins of our con- 
versation, the sins of our conduct, the sins of which we 
have been guilty in secret, when no human eye saw 
us, and the sins of which we have been guilty in the 
intercourse with our fellow-men, the sins of our 
daily duties, the sins of our holy things, — - let us 
confess all these over Christ as the lamb of God 
which taketh away the sin of the world ; and as far 
as the east is distant from the west, so far will he 
remove all our transgressions from us. 

Two points yet remain. We treat them together, 
as they are wrapped up in each other. 



126 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



V. 

There is the blessedness of the man whose sin is 
forgiven. " Blessed is the man whose iniquity is 
forgiven, whose sin is covered." 

VI. 

The guile is taken out of the soul when it has ac- 
knowledged its trangressious and has its sins forgiven. 
" In whose spirit there is no guile." 

The promise and assura?ice is blessedness. " Blessed 
is the man." What does this mean? What is implied 
in blessedness y — the blessedness so often promised 
in the Psalms? 

The man who is blessed has the favor of Heaven, 
and is receiving, and is entitled to receive, not of 
merit but of grace, benefits many and precious. 
Adopted into God's family, he has the privilege of 
sonship. We have access at any time to our Heav- 
enly Father, once it may be offended, but now rec- 
onciled. " In that day thou shalt say, O Lord, 
I will praise thee : though thou wast angry with me, 
thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 
Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and not 
be afraid : for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and 
my song; he also is become my salvation. There- 
fore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of 
salvation." We reason, " If men who are evil know 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 1 2/ 

how to give gifts unto their children, much more 
will our Father who is in heaven give all good things 
to them that ask him." " All good things " we are 
sure that we will get ; all that is for our good, guid- 
ance, restraint, light, and peace. The night is past, 
the cloud is lifted, and we walk in the light, — in 
the light of God's countenance. 

But who are thus blessed ? They whose iniquities 
are forgiven. Till this is done, there is a sentence 
pronounced and a curse lying on us. It is in the 
form of a debt which we cannot pay ; of a burden 
weighing heavily upon us. We apply for aid, and 
are told that the debt is not paid. We would walk 
and run, and find that we are bent down to the 
earth by the load. This will continue till the debt 
is paid, till the burden is removed; but then we can 
look up and behold our heavenly Father's face smil- 
ing on us. We can now say, " It is God that justi- 
fieth, who is he that condemneth ? " We can now 
look all men in the face. We add to our faith, 
virtue, — that is, courage. We are prepared to face 
the evil and follow the good, and we walk and run 
in the way of God's commandments. As long as 
sin is unconfessed, and therefore we may be sure 
unforgiven, there is deceit in us. We have first to 
defend ourselves from an accusing conscience. We 
begin with denying the offence, and then we palliate 
it. In doing this, we have to use pretexts and we 
follow crooked courses, and thus learn habits of 
self-deception. It is first self-deception ; we deceive 



128 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



ourselves. A profound writer remarks that having 
first deceived ourselves, all other deception becomes 
easy. We have to keep up fair appearances, and 
in order to this, to conceal and evade and put on 
disguises. 

" Oh, what a tangled web we weave 
When first we practise to deceive ! " 

As the process goes on there come equivocation, 
and in the end lying and hypocrisy. The result is 
a spirit of guile. We see this beginning even in 
children, in their exertions to conceal their faults 
and magnify their virtues, that thus they may stand 
high in the view of those with whom they come in 
contact. It comes out more conspicuously in schools 
and colleges where youths resort to a variety of 
means, it may be tricks, to keep up a false show in 
the view of their fellow-students and instructors. It 
is apt to become confirmed with advancing years 
and by professional work, and it may become a 
hardened cement in old age. Our state thus becomes 
like that in which our Lord found the temple at 
Jerusalem when he entered it and " found there those 
that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the chang- 
ers of money sitting." We know what the Lord of 
the temple did on that occasion. " He made a 
scourge of small cords, and drove them all out of 
the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen ; and poured 
out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 
and said unto them that sold doves, Take these 
things hence: make not my Father's house a 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 1 29 

house of merchandise." Now, when Christ enters 
the heart of the sinner, which ought to have been 
his temple, he acts in much the same way when he 
finds it filled with worldly objects and defended by 
chicanery and deceit. He proceeds to purify it in 
the way we have been contemplating. His hand is 
heavy upon us, and all to press out the deceit. He 
reproves, he rebukes with all long-suffering, but with 
all faithfulness, till he wrings the acknowledgment 
from us, " I will confess my transgressions unto the 
Lord," followed by the assurance, " Thou forgavest 
me the iniquity of my sin." 

And now the crowded bosom finds relief; the 
confined soul experiences enlargement; the fettered 
spirit is free; the gates of brass and the bars of 
iron are cut down; the prison doors are thrown 
open, and the soul walks at liberty and expatiates 
abroad, on before untrodden ground, and gazes on 
new and lovely scenes. New affections are called 
forth, and new-born feelings spring up. The evil 
humors have been let out, and the body feels health 
returning, and with health, motive and activity. The 
noise of bartering is hushed, and the merchandise 
is cast out, that the worship of God may proceed 
undisturbed, and pure sacrifices be offered, and the 
voice of prayer and praise rise to heaven. The fight 
is ended, and the victory is won. a The winter is 
over and gone," and with it the cold and frosts, and 
the time of the singing of birds is come, and the 
plants bud, and the flowers blossom and throw out 

9 



130 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



their perfume into the air, that it may be wafted all 
around. Iniquity has been committed, but is not 
" imputed." The sin is " covered," not allowed to re- 
main as an offensive mass of putrefaction to spread 
malaria and weakness, temptation and corruption, 
but is covered out of sight, being cast into the great 
purifier, — the sea of Christ's blood. The conscience, 
the moral eye, is purged, and clearly discerns be- 
tween the good and the evil, and being disgusted 
with the evil which has wrought such mischief, repels 
*t as its worst foe, and swears (as Hannibal did) on 
the altar to wage eternal warfare against it. 

This is the gospel method. It does not say to 
the helpless sinner, " Do this and live." This was 
the method with the first man, who did not do this, 
and so did not live. But it is, Here is life. " Live 
and do this." When Christ came into Peter's house, 
he found " his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever, 
and he touched her hand and the fever left her; " 
and then she arose and " ministered unto them." 
So Christ when he comes bids us arise, and we 
arise to serve him in the love of the heart and the 
obedience of the life. 

Among other things driven out is the guile. We 
hate it because it has deceived us, and we feel that 
we can never put trust in it again. We have seen 
through its hollow pretences and its sophistic argu- 
ments. We know that it has been a liar from the 
beginning, and we refuse to listen to it. In the rec- 
tification of the soul the " crooked places " have been 



THE RELIEF AFFORDED BY CONFESSION. 131 

made straight by our conquering and advancing 
Lord. The man has had power with God like Israel 
of old, and has prevailed, and now has become 
like Nathanael, an Israelite indeed in whom is no 
guile. In the washing of regeneration the soul has 
been purified and whitened, and no pollution will 
remain on it. We have heard a better voice, — of 
him who hath delivered us out of the horrible pit 
and the miry clay into which the siren had allured 
us, and we are resolved to follow that voice whither- 
soever it may lead us ; and it sets our feet on a rock, 
establishing our goings. We continue to hear the 
voice saying, " This is the way, walk ye in it ; " and 
it conducts through sincerity and honesty to purity 
and heaven. 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH 
IN JESUS. 



But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory 
of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to 
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. — 2 Cor. iii. 18. 



UPPOSE we were required, wherever we hap- 



^ pened to be, at home or abroad, in our own 
dwelling or among the works of Nature, to wear a 
thick veil over our eyes, how dim, how confused, 
and how perverted would be the view we should 
obtain of every object. Nothing would be seen by 
us in its own color or its proper form. We should 
look on the faces of our friends, and have a shadowy 
perception of the outline of their features ; but we 
could discover no beaming smiles or expression of 
inward thought and feeling playing on their coun- 
tenances. We might gaze on a landscape of bold 
mountains and grassy plains intersected by leaping 
streams and clothed with trees of richest verdure, 
and be conscious of nothing but a mass of shapes 
colored by the medium in which we viewed them, 
without order and without beauty. As long as our 
eyes were so covered, the brightest objects would 
seem to us stripped of all their lustre, the loveliest 




THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 1 33 

prospects appear dark and dim, and we should grope 
at noonday as the blind grope in darkness. 

Now such, according to Paul, is the unconverted 
Jew's apprehension of the meaning of the Old Tes- 
tament. He cannot but understand some of the 
truths, but he sees them very obscurely and con- 
fusedly, and he is altogether blind to their spiritual 
power and expression. In short, he sees everything 
as through a veil. This illustration is set forth by 
the apostle in the second half of this chapter in a 
variety of lights, and with great beauty and felicity 
of language. When Moses came down from the 
mount in which he had conversed with God, his face 
shone with the reflection of the light of God's coun- 
tenance, and he had to cover it with a veil; and 
Paul says, that to this day the same veil is over the 
writings of Moses when the children of Israel read 
them. It would also appear that the Jews were 
accustomed to cover their heads with a veil when 
the law was read in the synagogue worship. In 
allusion to this custom, Paul says that the veil is 
over not only their eyes, but their minds (v. 14) : 
" But their minds were blinded : for until this day 
remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading 
of the Old Testament. . . . But even unto this 
day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their 
hearts." 

This state of the unconverted Jew as here described 
is the natural condition of every man. Without any 
special Divine operation upon our hearts, we can 



134 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



read the Scriptures and in some measure understand 
them and discover a number of their beauties. The 
man of poetical taste cannot but admire the lovely 
strains of the sweet Psalmist of Israel, or the rich 
imagery in which the speakers in the Book of Job 
and the prophet Isaiah clothe their thoughts and 
sentiments ; the man of tender heart is constrained 
to weep over the tale of the sorrows of the Man of 
Sorrows ; and the philosopher delights to expatiate 
in those fields of lofty speculation through which 
the apostle Paul conducts us with such powerful 
and gigantic strides. But there are higher beauties 
which are hidden from the natural man, " neither can 
he know them, for they are spiritually discerned." 
He is ever tempted to turn away from what he feels 
to be the too dazzling splendor of holiness in which 
the Word of God shines, just as weak eyes turn away 
from the sun, and as the children of Israel could 
not look upon the face of Moses when it was re- 
splendent with the light of God. Should he con- 
tinue to gaze, he is blinded by excess of light, and 
the very light appears as darkness. " Eyes has he, 
but he sees not." He sees the letter, but the veil 
is over the heart, and he discerns not the spirit. 
There is a dimness, a haziness in his perception of 
the regenerating and spiritual truths of God's Word. 
He sees no beauty in its truths; he sees no beauty 
in its grand truth, the truth of truths; he sees no 
beauty in Christ that he should desire him. As the 
full soul loatheth the honeycomb, so the man who 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 135 

is full of his own righteousness turns away from 
Christ, saying, " What have I to do with thee, thou 
Jesus of Nazareth? " But when it pleaseth the Lord 
to open his eyes, as he opened the eyes of the 
blind when on earth, then he beholds wondrous 
things in God's holy law. Its spiritual meaning, be- 
fore hid, like writing in invisible ink, starts, under 
this more powerful than chemical process, into legi- 
bility, and as he reads he discovers new beauties in 
every page. Not that there has been any change 
in the Word, but there is a change in the person 
who reads it. I had occasion lately to pass through 
some of the loveliest scenery in America, first in 
the darkness of night, and afterwards in the light 
of day ; and what a difference ! There is a like 
difference between the way in which the carnal man 
and the spiritual man perceive the truths of God's 
Word. The object viewed is the same, but there 
is a difference in the eye that looks on it. In par- 
ticular, our eyes being enlightened, we get a totally 
new view of the person and work of the Redeemer ; 
we discover him to be the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand, and altogether lovely. Now, " we all with open 
face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 
are changed into the same image, even as by the 
Spirit of the Lord." Let us try to unfold what is 
contained in this passage, and as we do so, may our 
eyes be opened to see the beauty of Christ. 



136 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



I. 

WE ALL WITH OPEN FACE BEHOLDING AS IN A 
GLASS. 

By beholding we are to understand faith, or rather 
faith in one of its liveliest and most important 
exercises. In the rich and pictured style of lan- 
guage adopted in the Scriptures, faith is often de- 
scribed by one of its most expressive acts. The 
outward sign is put for the inward sentiment. Faith, 
true, saving, spiritual faith, is a living principle. It 
hath ears, and it hears the Word as a message of 
God. It hath hands, and it lays hold of and handles 
Christ the Word of Life. It hath eyes, and it looks 
and beholds Christ. The believer looks to Christ 
and his wounds with the eye of the mind, just as 
the serpent-bitten Israelites looked to the serpent 
of brass raised by Moses in the wilderness. He 
whose eyes have been opened sees the land that is 
afar off as if it were near, as in certain states of our 
atmosphere we see the distant mountains as if they 
were close at hand. This beholding does not con- 
sist of a single glance, of a passing survey. He 
has beheld the king in his beauty, and the view 
which he has got so ravishes his heart that he looks 
anew and anew, and is learning to gaze on the glory. 
With open face beholding, — this is the common at- 
titude of his soul. " Looking " is not a single act, 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 1 37 



but the habit of his soul. "Looking unto Jesus as 
the author and finisher of our faith." 

With open face. The language refers to the imme- 
diate and clear view which we obtain of the character 
and work of Christ in the New Testament. Under 
the Jewish dispensation Christ was exhibited, but 
it was as it were through a veil. In the infancy of 
the church it was instructed by the law as a school- 
master, after the manner in which the teacher is 
accustomed to instruct his younger pupils by means 
of vivid representations, by signs and by symbols. 
But just because the teaching was by means of shad- 
ows, there was a mystery attached to it The people 
could not worship except through a priesthood and 
sacrifice. From their holy temple the light of day 
was excluded, and the only light was that supplied 
by the seven-branched golden candlestick. Into the 
holiest of all, representing the Divine presence, the 
high priest alone entered, and this only once a year, 
and not without blood. In the service of the syna- 
gogue, the worshippers sat with their heads veiled 
in deepest reverence when the law was read. But 
now, when Christ came, the mystery which had been 
hid for ages is revealed. At the hour when Jesus said, 
" It is finished," the veil that hid the holiest of all, 
and the innermost secrets of the covenant, was rent 
in twain from top to bottom. The church, now more 
highly favored, needs not the tutors and governors 
which it required in its earlier years. We have now 
as priests access at once into the immediate presence 



138 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



of God through the one sacrifice that was offered. 
Our power of vision is so strengthened that we no 
longer require signs and types, but we look directly 
on Christ evidently crucified, and with open face 
behold him. 

As in a glass. Allusion is here made not to a 
mirror of glass, which was known, but not much 
known in ancient times, but to a reflecting mirror 
of burnished and highly polished metal. When a 
person or a scene is opposite we perceive as we 
look into it not the object, but a correct likeness 
of it. Such a mirror the apostle tells us we have in 
the volume of the Word, for it is to it the apostle 
refers ; and as we look into it heavenly objects are 
perceived, especially the glory of the Lord Christ. 

We who dwell in tabernacles of clay, whose char- 
acter is polluted and whose eye is dimmed by sin, 
cannot see God as the spirits made perfect do in 
heaven. " No man hath seen God at any time." 
His voice has been heard on more than one occasion, 
as at our Lord's baptism, and again at his transfigu- 
ration, when the Father pointed to him as his rep- 
resentative and said, " This is my beloved Son ; " 
but no man has seen his person or beheld the full 
glory of God. Moses, emboldened by the many 
favors bestowed upon him, desired on one occasion 
to behold the glory of God. " I beseech thee, show 
me thy glory." But the request could not be granted 
even to this highly-favored servant of Heaven, and 
the reason of the refusal was given : u No man can 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 1 39 

see God, and live." Flesh and blood would be con- 
sumed in the blaze of that light. But though the 
Lord did not condescend to allow Moses to behold 
his glory, yet he gave him a signal manifestation of 
his presence. " And the Lord said, Behold there is 
a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 
and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth 
by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock ; and 
will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and 
I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my 
back parts : but my face shall not be seen. . . . And 
the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, 
The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, 
long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, trans- 
gression, and sin, and that will by no means clear 
the guilty." Such is the view which God con- 
descends to give to the believer in the Word, of 
himself in the face of his Son, as a just God who 
will by no means clear the guilty, and yet the jus- 
tifier of him that believeth in Jesus, — a gracious and 
encouraging view, not indeed of his essential glory, 
which the sinner cannot behold, but of his glory as 
exhibited in his grace, and on which the eye of the 
believer delights to rest; not of his throne of glory 
in heaven before which angels veil their faces with 
their wings, but of his throne of grace set up on 
earth, and on which the sinner, conscious of his sin, 
never wearies to gaze, and we all with open face 
behold as in a gjass the glory of the Lord. 



140 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



II. 

THE BELIEVER BEHOLDS "THE GLORY OF THE 
LORD." 

By the Lord we are evidently to understand, as 
the whole context shows, the Lord Christ. And here 
observe the relation between these three things which 
are often confounded in our apprehensions, but 
which have their separate places allotted to them in 
this passage, — the relation between Faith, the Word, 
and Christ. Faith is the eye by which we behold ; 
the Word is the mirror into which we look; the 
Lord is the object we see as we look into the mirror 
of the Word. Notice what is the proper object of 
faith, — it is the Lord. We look into the Word as 
into a mirror, not so much to fix our attention on 
the Word, as to fix it on the object reflected in the 
mirror, — on Christ the Lord. When we look into 
the mirror it is to behold " the glory of the Lord." 

In him as thus disclosed we shall behold a glory. 
In his person he is " the brightness of the Father's 
glory, and the express image of his person." In 
his work all the perfections of the Divine character 
meet as in a focus of surpassing brilliancy. And 
glorious as he is in heaven, he acquires to our eyes 
— not only so, but in the eyes of the whole angelic 
host — a new glory when he becomes flesh and tab- 
ernacles on the earth. For there is a higher glory 
than that of awful majesty and unlimited power. 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 141 

There was a glory in his incarnation, and the angel 
who came to announce the tidings to Mary felt that 
no creature since the commencement of creation had 
been sent on a more important embassy. There was 
true glory in his birth in the stable at Bethlehem, 
— a glory which fallen man could not appreciate, but 
which the company of the heavenly host observed 
as they sang, " Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace, good-will to the children of men." There 
was glory in his baptism, when the Holy Ghost de- 
scended upon him, and the voice of the Father was 
heard declaring, " This is my well-beloved Son." 
There was glory in the battle which he fought and 
the victory which he won in the wilderness, on 
the mountain, and on the pinnacle of the temple. 
There was an imposing glory in the grand scene 
disclosed to the eyes of the three apostles on the 
mount of transfiguration, when his face did shine as 
the sun, and his raiment was white as the light, 
and Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory, were 
heard conversing with him, and there came a voice 
from the excellent glory, " This is my beloved Son." 
There was a glory, too, in the very humiliation of 
the Saviour, — a glory in his sorrow, a glory in his 
agony, a glory in his ignominy, a glory in his shame, 
a glory in the cursed death which he died. Go ask 
the saints who dwell in glory, and who have seen 
the full glory of the Lord, what is the most glorious 
view which they take of him, and you may learn 
their answer from the song which they sing, unto him 



142 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



who redeemed them to God by his blood. Go ask 
the angels who have ministered before God since 
creation began, in what it is that we may see the 
glory of God most fully reflected; and you know 
their reply when you hear that the voice of many 
angels joins with the voice of the redeemed, saying 
with a loud voice, "Worthy is the lamb that was 
slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
strength, and honor, and blessing." In the view of 
the inhabitants of heaven, the most glorious event 
of which our earth has been the scene, the event 
which they desire to look into, is the incarnation 
and the death of the Son of God. In earthly affairs, 
there may be a greater glory in suffering and sorrow 
than in prosperity and dazzling splendor. There 
may, for example, be a greater glory in the soldier's 
death than in his life ; there was a greater glory in 
Samson's death than in all the achievements of his 
life. But speak not of the glory of the soldier bleed- 
ing in defence of a nation's rights ; speak not of the 
glory of the patriot toiling and suffering and dying 
for his country's freedom ; speak not of the glory 
of the martyr, calm and rejoicing while tied to the 
burning stake. These have no glory, because of the 
glory that excelleth, — the glory of Christ's con- 
descension and patience and love in submitting to 
shame, to sorrow, and to death. 

There was an evident glory in his resurrection, 
when, having gone down to the dark dominions of 
death, he came up a mighty conqueror, bearing the 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 1 43 

fruits of victory, and holding death in chains as his 
prisoner; and angels believed themselves honored in 
announcing that "the Lord is risen." There was 
a glory in his ascension into heaven. " Thou hast 
ascended on high, leading captivity captive;" and 
angels were waiting at the portals of heaven to re- 
ceive him as a mighty victor returned from conquest, 
and singing, " Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even 
lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of 
Glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? 
the Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." The 
angelic host feel as if, besides that essential and 
hereditary glory which he had in the bosom of the 
Father from all eternity, he had acquired an addi- 
tional glory by the work in which he had been 
engaged and the victory he had won. He is in glory 
now at the right hand of God, which glory Stephen 
was privileged to behold when he " looked up stead- 
fastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and 
Jesus standing on the right hand of God." He 
shall come in glory at the last day to judge the 
world in the midst of an assembled universe. He 
shall dwell in his glory through all eternity, and the 
saints shall be partakers with him of that glory. 
Now all this glory, — the glory of his majesty and 
the glory of his meekness, the glory of his might 
and the glory of his mercy, the glory of his power 
in heaven and of his shame on earth, the glory of 
his character and the glory of his sufferings, the 
glory of his cross and the glory of his crown, — all 



144 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



these are exhibited in the volume of the Book, just 
as we have seen an expansive scene of sky and 
cloud, of hills and plains, of streams and woods, 
reflected and exhibited before us in a mirror, and 
we all with open face behold as in a glass the glory 
of the Lord. 

III. 

THE EFFECT PRODUCED BY OUR LOOKING BY FAITH 
UNTO JESUS, — WE ARE CHANGED INTO THE SAME 
IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY. 

This transforming power of faith arises from two 
sources not independent of each other, but still 
separable. 

i. Faith is the receiving grace of the Christian 
character, and the soul is enriched by the treasures 
poured through it as a channel. You hear individ- 
uals ask in doubt or in scorn, " Oh, how should there 
be so great merit in faith to save the sinner ! " My 
friends, there is no merit in faith. One reason why 
faith is chosen as the means of saving us is, that it 
has and can have no merit. " Where is boasting? 
It is excluded. By what law? By the law of works? 
Nay ; but by the law of faith. Not of works, lest any 
man should boast." Faith is in its very nature 
humble and dependent; it looks to another, it leans 
on another. It is the mere mean or channel through 
which the blessings which Christ purchased flow in 
richest abundance into the soul. Now, it is required 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 145 

of a good medium or channel that there be nothing 
in it to obstruct that which is meant to pass through 
it. Herein lies the great efficacy of faith : it receives 
that which is given it, and through it the virtue that 
is in Christ flows into the soul, enriches and satis- 
fies it, and changes it into the same image. 

2. Faith produces this effect, inasmuch as it makes 
us look to and copy Christ. The Spirit carries on 
the work of sanctification by making us look unto 
Jesus ; and whatever we look to with admiration and 
love we are disposed and inclined willingly, some- 
times almost involuntarily, to imitate. Now, the be- 
liever has such a model, to which he is ever looking, 
set before him in the character of Jesus, who hath 
set us an example, that we should follow his steps. 
If such great effects have followed from copying 
excellence which is but imperfect, what greater in- 
fluence must ensue from looking to spotless purity ! 
We have in the Gospels a lifelike picture of his con- 
duct, and of the particular incidents of it, and this 
while he was placed in a great variety of situations, 
and all that we may model our character on his. 
We as it were see him acting and hear him speaking 
in a great number of interesting and instructive cir- 
cumstances : we see him while with his disciples and 
in the family of Bethany; amidst the acclamations 
of the Jewish people, and amidst their execrations ; 
as he rejoiced over the conversion of sinners, and 
when grieved with their hardness of heart; as he 
pitied his enemies and prayed for them, and wept 

10 



146 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



over the grave of a friend. In beholding Jesus by 
faith, our character is assimilated to his. We grow 
in likeness to him whom we love and admire. It is 
when looking with open face into the face of Jesus, 
that his likeness is impressed upon the soul as we 
have seen the image of heaven reflected on the 
bosom of a tranquil lake spread out beneath it. 
" From glory to glory." It is the highest glory of 
the creature to resemble the Creator, and of the 
believer to resemble his Saviour ; and the follower of 
Christ growing up to him in all things which is the 
head, even Christ, " comes in the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure 
of the stature of the fulness of Christ." 



IV. 

ALL THIS IS DONE BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD. 

Let us notice the harmony between the work of 
the Spirit and the principles of man's mind. The 
Spirit of God in sanctifying our nature does not do 
any violence to it ; he simply restores all its powers 
to their original state. He does not convert or sanc- 
tify sinners against their will, but by making them 
a willing people in the day of his power. What he 
does in us he does by us. The very circumstance 
that it is God who worketh in us, is a reason why 
we ourselves should work; for were it not that he 
worketh in us, the work would be helpless. " Where- 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 1 47 

fore he saith, Work out your salvation with fear and 
trembling, for it is God that worketh in you both 
to will and to do of his good pleasure/' It is when 
we are beholding the glory of the Lord Christ, that 
the Spirit changes us into the same image from 
glory to glory. 

Let us observe the harmony between the work of 
Christ the Lord and the work of the Spirit of the 
Lord. The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ proceeding 
from the Father and the Son, and he takes of the 
things that are Christ's and shows them unto us. 
The Spirit directs our eyes to Christ, and it is when 
we look to the Lord Christ that we are changed into 
the same image. ' Christ sends his Spirit to the 
sinner, and the sinner instantly looks to Christ. It is 
by the Spirit that the believer is sanctified ; but the 
Spirit carries on his work by means of that faith 
which keeps the eye fixed on Jesus. Do you wish 
to find your way to the Saviour, apply to the Spirit 
to guide you. Do you wish to have more of the 
gift of the Spirit, then look to him who among other 
gifts has purchased the gift of the Spirit. Thus 
closely are the work of Christ and the work of the 
Spirit connected. 

We thus see that it is the Spirit that quickens 
and is the source of all spiritual life. It is the Spirit 
who first opens the eyes of the sinner to give him 
a saving view of the glory of Christ. It is the Spirit 
of the Lord, and not our own spirit, which is earthly 
and sensual, that keeps our eyes fixed on the Lord. 



148 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



It is through the power of the Spirit of the Lord 
that our character is renewed after the image of 
him to whom we look. He must begin the work 
if ever it is begun; and he who begins the good 
work must perform it, until the day of Jesus Christ. 
There is no room at any one part of the plan of sal- 
vation, for human merit. " Where is boasting, then? 
It is excluded." It can find an entrance at no one 
point. Not certainly in the original plan, for the 
purpose was of God. Not in the execution of it, 
for it has been wrought out and finished by Christ. 
Not in the application of it, for the calling is of God. 
Not in the conducting of the work of grace in the 
heart, for it is by the Spirit of the Lord. Its foun- 
dation is laid in grace, in everlasting grace, and he 
who hath laid the foundation brings forth " the head- 
stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace 
unto it." 

This passage has opened to us some interesting 
views of Faith, of its nature, its object, its power, 
its author. As to its nature, we have seen that in 
it the mind and heart are fixed on Christ As to 
its object, it is God in Christ ; it is Christ the Lord. 
As to its power, it has a transforming effect on the 
character. As to its author, the power from which 
it derives its power, it is the Spirit of the Lord. 

We see the advancement in Christ's kingdom. 
Under the Old Testament they saw everything in 
shadow, the shadow going before. Under the New 
Testament they see the figure fully defined in a 



THE CHANGE PRODUCED BY FAITH IN JESUS. 1 49 

mirror. But in heaven they shall see face to face and 
eye to eye. Thus do we advance from glory to 
glory. 

We see what constitutes the church : it is the body 
of Christ. We see what constitutes a Christian : it 
is being united to Christ by faith. We see wherein 
lies the unity of the church; it is in the common 
faith and the common love of Christians. The robe 
with which he clothes his beloved children is indeed 
party-colored, like that with which Jacob clothed 
his son Joseph ; but it is made of that which Jesus 
wore, and is without seam and cannot be divided. 



THE OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT. 



I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Com- 
forter, that he may abide with you for ever ; even the Spirit of 
truth. — John xiv. 16, 17. 



UR Lord had told his disciples that he was forth- 



with to leave them. Because of this, sorrow 
filled their hearts, which was met by a corresponding 
sorrow on the part of Jesus. It has often been re- 
marked that the love of friends never seems so great 
as when they are about to separate ; and it certainly 
looks as if the prospect of parting with the disciples 
who had companied with him for years imparted a 
special tenderness to these heart utterances of our 
Lord. The Sun of Righteousness looks larger and 
shines upon us with a greater splendor as he sets. 
It was as he was about to leave them that he gave 
the promise of the Comforter, or rather, as it is in 
the original, of the Paraclete, the defender of his 
people as his clients. 

The Scriptures everywhere proclaim the essential 
unity of God. But they speak also of a multiplicity, 
and it is felt and acknowledged that there is a 
beauty in multiplicity when combined in unity. The 
Father is represented as God, the Son as God, and 




THE OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT. 151 

the Holy Spirit as God, and yet these three are 
one. There is no contradiction here. Saint Patrick 
illustrated this to our forefathers by pointing to the 
three-leaved clover, of which we may say that each 
leaf is the clover-leaf, while the threefold leaf is one. 
We are thus enabled to understand that God who 
is love should have dwelt forever, not in loneliness, 
but in fellowship, — the love of Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost towards each other throughout eternity. 
As they are one in their love towards each other, 
so they are one in their love to us. The Spirit pro- 
ceedeth from the Father (John xv. 26). The Son 
prays the Father to send the Spirit (xiv. 16). The 
Spirit takes of the things of Christ and shows them 
unto us (xvi. 14). We are now to consider the offices 
of the Spirit in dealing with the sinner. 



I. 

The Spirit convinces the sinner of sin. Our Lord 
promised "When he is come he will reprove the 
world of sin " (John xvi. 8). This is commonly the 
first operation of the Spirit of God upon the soul. 
There are cases indeed in which the soul seems to 
be drawn at once to Christ by a perception of his 
beauty, without any fears or compunctions. But as 
a general rule the soul is first roused from its 
apathy and then takes refuge in Christ. They who 
feel that they are whole, will not be likely to send 
for a physician. The diseased man may require to 



152 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



be told that he is sick in order to induce him to 
look round for a remedy. So Christ by his Spirit 
begins his work by charging the sinner with his 
guilt, by reproving him because of sin, by convicting 
him of breaking God's law. 

This work is symbolized in a variety of ways. 
In Scripture, the evening cometh before the morning, 
and the evening and the morning make the day. 
In the opening of his ministry, Jesus entered the 
temple, which he found full of unseemly trafficking, 
and he threw down the tables, and he made a scourge 
of small cords and drove out the money-changers; 
so he visits our hearts, which ought to be his temple, 
but are full of selfishness and corruption, as " a re- 
finer and purifier." It is the ploughing and harrow- 
ing to prepare the soil for casting the seed into it. It 
is the thunder-storm which clears and purifies the 
atmosphere. We have a picture of it in the mighty 
rushing wind which filled the house where the dis- 
ciples were assembled, the immediate precursor of 
the full descent of the Spirit. It is like the cloven 
tongues of fire which sat on each of them, and 
their hearts and mouths were opened to pour forth 
burning words. It is the strong wind, the earth- 
quake, and the fire heard by the prophet, coming 
before the still small voice that speaketh peace. 

It is no unfavorable sign when the sinner is moved 
and agitated as to the state of his soul before God. 
He should rather hail it as the sailor hails the breeze 
rising in the midst of torpor to drive on his vessel. 



THE OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT. 1 53 

When you see one lying prostrate on the ground, 
struck by some terrible blow, and you do not know 
whether he is or is not alive, what is the first favor- 
able symptom? As long as he lies there motionless 
and unruffled, every bystander is alarmed, every rela- 
tive is in sorrow. That sleep is too like the sleep 
of death to give relief to anxious friends. But let 
there be seen a struggle to rise, let there be a flood 
of tears, let there be a cry of agony which in other 
circumstances would cause us to tremble, and relief 
is instantly felt ; these agitations allay the agitations 
of friends; these tears make their tears to cease to 
flow, and the wild cry is answered by exclamations 
of joy. So it is with this man unconcerned about 
salvation : fools may congratulate him ; but the wise 
and good will be anxious till they learn that he is 
becoming dissatisfied with himself, till they see the 
writhings of conviction, and hear the cry, " What 
must I do to be saved ? " 

This conviction of sin consists essentially, as Mr. 
McCheyne expressed it, in a man being made to 
feel the " dreadfulness of his natural condition." Man 
is a sinner, but may not know it, may not feel it; 
but the Spirit of Truth now makes him to realize it. 
He sees himself as he is, and as God sees him ; and 
as he does so he " abhors himself," and longs to be 
changed. It is not as yet faith; but as the man 
feels his insecurity he is driven to faith, — that is, 
trust in one who can save him. It is not yet repent- 
ance unto life; but it is bursting open the fountain 



154 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



that penitence may flow out. It is the bursting of 
the tomb that the soul may rise. 

But let not any one linger in this state and thus 
resist the Spirit. This is as dangerous as it would 
have been to Lot to remain after the command had 
been given him to depart. " Remember Lot's wife." 
He who looks back loses his opportunity, and in 
the judgments of God against disobedience will 
sink into a state of apathy, stiff and cold as the 
pillar of salt. Alas ! many seem to continue for 
years in this unsafe and uncomfortable state. They 
seem to be out of the land of bondage, to be journey- 
ing on to the land of promise, and yet by a strange 
infatuation they never reach it; but they wander 
all their lives in an intermediate wilderness, some- 
times on the one hand longing for the pleasures, for 
the flesh-pots of their former state, and sometimes 
on the other sending out stray messengers to spy 
the land of milk and honey that lies before them, 
but yet dying after all when they have obtained only 
a distant view of it, having seen enough to make 
them wish for the rest and security which it affords, 
but enough also to make them regret that so much 
has been lost by them. 

Another, the final and decisive step, needs to be 
taken. 

II. 

The Spirit converts the soul. This is a farther and a 
much more important step ; indeed, it is the essential 



THE OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT. 1 55 

one towards which all the preliminary ones look, and 
from which all the others proceed. It is proverbial 
that conviction may not become conversion. The 
blossoms of spring are pleasant to look upon and full 
of promise, but they do not all form into fruit; how 
often are the convictions nipped by the cold frosts 
of the heart and driven away by the wind of 
temptation ! 

" Except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God" (John iii. 3). " Marvel not that I 
said unto thee, Ye must be born again." You put 
the question, "How can these things be?" In many 
respects conversion is a very mysterious work, as 
every work of God is. But it becomes a mystery in 
the sense in which the word is used in Scripture, — 
that is, in the sense that what is dark in itself is re- 
vealed. The converted man from his own experience 
can say, " One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, 
now I see." It is often thought that there is a 
greater mystery in conversion than there really is. 
After all, it is simple enough. It is not inconsistent 
with our original and deeper nature, which it calls 
into exercise from beneath the incrustations of sin 
under which it has been lying. It is a new object 
presented, or rather an object presented in a new 
light, — it is Christ presented as altogether lovely. 
This object is apprehended and believed in. The 
sinner accepts of him as his Saviour. In the very 
act there is a change, and this act is conversion. 
Hitherto, under the influence of divers lusts and 



i 5 6 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



pleasures, he has been walking on the broad path 
that goes down towards destruction ; now his face is 
turned the other way, looking towards that lovely 
and loving Saviour who has attracted him, and he 
walks in the narrow way that leadeth to life. 

Conversion does not consist in imparting new fac- 
ulties to the soul. The new man is still the old man 
in his essential nature; but he is a changed man. 
In particular he takes a new view of every object. 
He takes a new view of himself. Before, he may 
have regarded himself with complacency, only con- 
fessing occasional failures; now, he sees that his 
heart is corrupted, and ever tempting him to evil. He 
takes a new view of God. Before, he was alienated 
from him, and did not care for intercourse with him ; 
now, he is reconciled to God in Christ, and delights 
to draw nigh to him and bask in the beams of his 
love. He takes a new view of the world. He lived 
for it, and sought as many of its pleasures and honors 
as possible; now he sees that these cannot satisfy 
the immortal soul, and he is seeking for enjoyments 
higher and more enduring. Before, he looked upon 
his fellow men and women as pleasant neighbors and 
companions, or simply as having business relations 
with him ; now, he regards them as having, like him- 
self, immortal souls, and he must not only be kind 
and obliging to them, but he must seek to do them 
spiritual good. " Henceforth know we no man after 
the flesh.'' 

I have been in the way of dividing the powers of 



THE OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT. 1 57 

the mind into the cognitive, or knowing, on the one 
hand, and the motive, which stir up desire and lead 
to action, on the other. Now, the change wrought 
by conversion is chiefly in the motive powers, that is, 
in the motives by which men are swayed in what is 
called in Scripture, the heart. Hitherto, the man has 
been influenced by such appetences as the lust of the 
flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. Now, 
he is led by higher affections, — by the love of God, 
the love of man, and a desire to do good. These 
and like motives lead to virtuous conduct. 

The immoral man may be converted; but it is 
implied in such cases that his vices are immediately 
abandoned. In cases in which religious exercises 
have been neglected, they will now be attended to. 
In cases in which error has been entertained in the 
past, there will now be an earnest desire to know the 
truth. Whatever he may have been or done, he now 
takes the law of God as his rule, and would do all 
that is required in it, and avoid all that is inconsistent 
with it. " By their fruits ye shall know them." 

The converted man may or may not know that 
he is converted He may or he may not know the 
precise time of his conversion, which however always 
takes place at a particular moment. The sun rises 
at a given instant, but he may be encompassed with 
clouds, and for a time we may not know whether he 
has risen or not. But we see streaks of light in 
the sky, and the darkness is being dispelled. So it 
is with the soul of the converted ; it may be oppressed 



i 5 8 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



for a time with doubts and fears, but it cherishes a 
good hope through grace, and it walks on towards 
the light and at last rejoices in its beams. 

III. 

The Spirit sanctifies the believer. Our Lord prays, 
" Sanctify them by thy truth ; thy word is truth." 
Men of science have at length discovered what is 
the character of the world so far as it consists of 
animated beings. " It is a struggle for existence ; " 
it is " the survival of the fittest." So it is with the 
Christian life. The old man conquered, but not 
thoroughly subdued, contends with the new life 
which has been superinduced. 

So the Christian life is a work, it is a warfare. It 
is a campaign in a country with the people con- 
quered, but still fighting. It is a voyage towards 
a haven through winds and waves. It consists in the 
conquest of sin in a sinful nature, in the attainment 
of holiness in an unholy heart. It is like life in an 
infected city ; it is sustained in the midst of delete- 
rious and deadly influences. The sinner yet in his 
sins is not engaged in the battle, and so is not aware 
of the strength of the enemy. Those going down 
with the stream do not know its power; those only 
who are bearing up against it are conscious of the 
strength of the current. The children of Israel sat 
contentedly by the flesh-pots of Egypt so long as 
they submitted to their slavery; it was only when 



THE OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT. 1 59 

they were seized with a spirit of independence, that 
they felt how difficult their tasks and how hard 
their task-masters. It is when the captive would 
break his chains that the iron enters into his soul. 

So the Christian life is everywhere described as 
a contest. The seed of the woman strives with the 
seed of the serpent (Gen. iii. 15). There is a con- 
stant reference to a warfare between the evil and 
the good throughout the Book of Psalms. The fight 
is spoken of by Paul : " The flesh lusteth against 
the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh : and these 
are contrary the one to the other" (Gal. v. 17). We 
have a minute description in Romans vii. 21-23: " I 
find then a law that when I would do good, evil is 
present with me. For I delight in the law of God, 
after the inward man ; but I see another law in my 
members warring against the law of my mind, and 
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is 
in my members." All Christian experience testifies to 
the same effect. Look to the Confessions of Augus- 
tine, to the letters and lives of the Reformers, to 
the diaries of later Christians, and we find them all 
uttering the same sentiments in different tongues; 
mourning over a remainder of sin with which they 
are earnestly contending, and which they hope finally 
to conquer. Paul had to cry out, " O wretched 
man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body 
of this death?" In this language, reference is made 
to a barbarous custom among the Romans. They 
chained the prisoner to a soldier, and it might be 



i6o 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



that when the soldier died, the prisoner felt himself 
tied to a dead body. Virgil paints in all its horrors 
the practice of the tyrant Megentius, who bound 
the living to the dead, hand to hand and mouth to 
mouth. In allusion to this practice, Paul felt as if 
he, a living man, were joined to a corpse, and had 
to cry out, " Who will deliver me from this body of 
death?" 

It is a contest between the lower principles of 
man's nature and the higher, quickened and sanctified 
by the Spirit of God. It is a struggle between the 
animal man and the spiritual man ; between pleasure 
and duty; between selfishness and benevolence; be- 
tween appetite and conscience; between lust and 
reason ; between love of ease and zeal for good ; be- 
tween cowardice and courage; between deceit and 
candor; between selfishness and love; between the 
fear of man and the fear of God ; between earth and 
heaven. 

But they that be with us are far stronger than they 
that can be against us. The believer is not perfect 
in this world ; but he is going on towards perfection 
in obedience to the command, " Be ye therefore per- 
fect, even as your Father which is in heaven is 
perfect." " He who hath begun a good work in 
you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." 
The believer is made perfect at death, when he joins 
" the spirits of just men made perfect." 



THE OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT. l6l 



IV. 

The Spirit comforts the believer. In the discourse 
in which our Lord promises the Spirit, he promises 
peace. " Peace I leave with you, my peace I give 
unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you." 
In the very first exercise of faith we have peace. 
"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Peace is opposed to war. Now, there are two kinds 
of war among the nations of the earth. There may 
be war with a foreign foe, and there may be war 
between contending parties in the nation itself. There 
is a like double warfare in the soul : God is angry 
with the sinner on the one hand, and the soul is at 
enmity with God on the other. Then there are 
divers lusts and pleasures which war against each 
other and against the soul. There is thus a war 
without in the opposition to God and to his law, and 
a war within, — a civil strife, — in the opposition of 
one lust to another, and of the whole to what is 
good. 

Now, there is a provision made in the gospel to 
remove the warfare in both these senses. God has 
sent his Son into the world to draw us unto himself, 
and his Spirit opens our eyes to see the beauty of 
Christ, and we accept the proffered mercy, and now 
God is pacified towards us and we have peace with 
God. We can say, " It is God that justifieth, who 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



is he that condemneth ? " The God who has par- 
doned our sins, will not allow our hearts to continue 
in a state of rebellion and corruption; and he says 
to the troubled waves, " Peace, be still," and there is 
a calm. To be spiritually minded is life and peace. 
There is now a well-founded well-established peace 
of which we can never be deprived, and which keeps 
us stable amid all the vicissitudes and agitations of 
the world. 

And this is not all. There may not only be peace, 
there may be joy. There may be the joy of the 
espousals of the soul to Christ. " Though thou wert 
angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou 
comfortedst me." Joy proceeds from the satisfac- 
tion of the soul with what it possesses, very often 
from its obtaining the object for which it had been 
striving. The shepherd had joy when he found his 
lost sheep; the woman who had lost a piece of 
money had joy when she found it; the father had 
joy when he embraced his lost son in his arms. So 
the Christian has joy when he finds Christ, and finds 
that he satisfies all the wants of the soul. This 
joy will continue as long as he keeps hold of Christ, 
for he feels that he is secure, whatever may befall 
him. This joy may rise till it becomes " unspeakable 
and full of glory." It is so at times on earth, it 
always is so in heaven. At God's right hand is ful- 
ness of joy forever more. In comparison with it 
all earthly enjoyments are as feeble as the light of 
the stars when compared with that of the sun. This 



THE OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT. 1 63 

joy is kept up and sustained by Him who takes 
of the things that are Christ's and shows the in 
unto us. 

Let us beware of resisting the Spirit (Acts vii. 51) 
and by this grieving the Spirit (Eph. iv. 30), and 
thus quenching the Spirit (1 Thess. v. 19). Let 
us surrender at once when he is seeking to humble 
in order to exalt us. Let us yield to him when he 
would lead us across the line that separates the 
unsaved from the saved. Let us not be satisfied till 
every sin which pollutes the soul is washed away. 
Let us accept and prize the joy offered, and we 
shall find "the joy of the Lord to be our strength." 
We need to rebuke our evil heart of unbelief. We 
live beneath not only our bounden duties, we live 
beneath our promised privileges. We are satisfied 
with lesser, when we might have larger measures of 
grace. God does not say anywhere in his Word 
that we may have the lower but not the higher 
blessings. God gives grace, and to those who ask 
it, more grace. If our desires and expectations were 
larger, our supplies would be more abundant. Ye 
have not, because ye ask not. " Be it according to 
your faith." God gives not according to your merits, 
but according to your wants. He gives not accord- 
ing to your merits, but according to the merits of 
Christ, and these are infinite. 11 Thou shouldst have 
smitten five or six times," said the prophet Elisha to 
Joash, King of Israel, when he put the arrow of the 
Lord's deliverance into his hand and bade him shoot, 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and " he smote only thrice and stayed ; " and the vic- 
tory was not what it might otherwise have been. 
So I say to you, You should have asked vastly more, 
and more would have been given you. Oh, that we, 
the beggars and suppliants, had but a little of that 
earnestness which Christ the benefactor has in press- 
ing the gifts upon us. Your supply from that run- 
ning fountain will be in proportion to the size of 
the vessel you take with you, to the extent of the 
desires you cherish. "Ask and receive, that your 
joy may be full." 



CHRISTIAN HUMILITY ILLUSTRATED IN 
THE CHARACTER OF PAUL. 



Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints. — Eph. iii. 8. 

T)AUL is acknowledged on all hands to have been 
one of the greatest of all saints. Born in no 
mean city, he had a right to the important privileges 
of a Roman citizen; of the pure stock of Benjamin, 
he could boast a lineage from an older and nobler 
ancestry than the Roman patrician ; trained to a use- 
ful trade, he was in some measure independent of the 
ordinary accidents of life ; bred at the feet of Gama- 
liel, he was conversant with the history, the doctrines, 
and traditions of the most remarkable people that 
ever lived ; acquainted with the speculations of the 
most intellectual people of the ancient world, with 
those of the Stoics and Epicureans and the philoso- 
phers of Greece; endowed with noble faculties, he 
could master his knowledge; and with a natural 
sincerity, eagerness, and courage, he feared not the 
face of man, — these were the natural talents and 
acquirements which he was enabled to bring and 
lay at the feet of Jesus, a gift nobler far than the 
gold, the frankincense, and myrrh brought by the 
wise men from the riches of the East ; and he received 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



from Christ gifts in comparison with which he reck- 
oned these as nothing and vanity, — forgiveness 
of sins, peace of conscience, enlightened faith, in- 
defatigable zeal, deep humility, and fervent love 
which filled his soul till it flowed out in labors 
which made him not a whit behind the chief of the 
apostles. 

I. 

The Apostle remembered his past sin. Wherever 
there is a quickened conscience, it will prompt the 
possessor to think of his past sins, and this even 
when he has reason to believe that they have been 
forgiven. The apostle continued to remember the 
natural and deeply-seated pride and self-righteousness 
which he had so long cherished. Allusion is made in 
every one of his public apologies and in a number 
of his epistles to the circumstance of his once hav- 
ing been an enemy of the cross of Christ and a 
persecutor. In a letter to Timothy, written thirty 
years after his conversion, he speaks of his acts of 
enmity against the cause of God as if they had been 
committed the day before, so fresh are they in his 
memory. " I thank Jesus Christ our Lord, who hath 
enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting 
me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer, 
a persecutor, and injurious." 

Let us try ourselves by this test. When our minds 
wander back among the scenes and incidents of our 
past life, what are the recollections which we seek 



CHRISTIAN HUMILITY ILLUSTRATED IN PAUL. 1 6/ 



to bring up and delight to cherish? Do we think of 
our ingratitude for favors conferred by God on our 
selfishness and ungodliness, or do we rather call up 
our imagined virtues, our supposed achievements? 
Do we fondly dwell on the compliments which have 
been paid us, and the honors which have been 
heaped upon us, and all to enable us to feed our 
self-esteem and to raise a hymn of praise to our own 
virtues? ' If such be our spirit and habit, it is all 
too certain that we have not acquired the temper 
to which Paul was brought when his pride was cast 
down on the road to Damascus, and which he ever 
afterwards entertained. 

It is for the benefit of the believer to remember 
his past sinfulness. The recollection of his infirmities 
may enable him to guard against their recurrence. 
Our sins, even when past and forgiven, are apt to 
leave a prejudicial influence behind. The habits that 
have been formed will be apt to impel us in our old 
ways. Passions and lusts which have been fondled 
will seek to regain their former ascendency. Even 
when these effects do not follow, there is the scandal 
of the offence in the eyes of man. Our sins are like 
wounds, which even when cured and closed are apt 
to leave a scar behind. It is most meet and becom- 
ing, and in every respect for his own profit and 
the advantage of the church and world, that the 
sinner, and more particularly the man whose sin has 
been known, should walk humbly before God and 
his fellow-men all the days of his life. 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Nor let it be forgotten that the remembrance of 
past sin is one of the motives impelling the Christian 
to be "zealously affected in every good thing." 
" Simon," said our Lord to a Pharisee, " I have some- 
what to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 
There was a certain creditor, which had two debt- 
ors : the one owed five hundred pence, and the other 
fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly 
forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of 
them will love him most? Simon answered and 
said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. 
And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged." 
Now the principle which our Lord thus drew from 
the mouth of the unconverted Pharisee was one on 
which Paul had acted since his conversion. He loved 
much, since much had been forgiven him. The re- 
membrance of the injury he had done to the church 
stimulated him to make greater endeavors to benefit 
it. The persecution which he had inflicted on others 
made him more steadfast in bearing the sufferings 
to which he was now exposed. According to the 
account handed down from the early church, the 
apostle had to suffer a violent death in the reign 
of Nero, when Christians were covered with pitch 
and burned as torches, or clothed with the skins of 
wild beasts, and dogs let loose upon them. We can 
conceive that as he saw the terrible preparations for 
putting him to death, his memory would go back 
thirty years, and he would remember how he him- 
self had stood by and consented to the death of the 



CHRISTIAN HUMILITY ILLUSTRATED IN PAUL. 1 69 

holy martyr Stephen, and he would feel himself 
thereby the more strengthened to endure what the 
Lord was now pleased to lay upon him. 

II. 

The Apostle mourned over the sin yet cleaving to 
him. He had not only a recollection of past sin, 
he had a- sense of present sin. "I see another law 
in my members warring against the law of my mind, 
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin 
which is in my members. O wretched man that I 
am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death?" 

The discovery of remaining sin is a mark of the 
true believer. The statement may sound paradoxi- 
cal, but nevertheless it is true that the believer grieves 
far more over his lesser infirmities than others do 
over their greater. Nor is it difficult to account for 
this. The Spirit of God in renewing the soul has 
quickened the conscience, which more clearly dis- 
cerns the remaining evil in the heart and conduct, 
and is more disposed to tremble at God's word. 
Thus sin is far more frequently observed, and is 
immeasurably more abhorred by one who is striving 
after holiness than by the man who is allowing him- 
self in iniquity. The hatred of sin and the power of 
discerning sin increase with the Christian's spiritual 
excellence; and thus it is that in growing in other 
graces he grows also in the grace of humility, re- 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



sembling the tree, which in proportion as it shoots 
out branches and leaves towards heaven, sends down 
deeper roots into the soil to keep it stable in the 
midst of the storms that beat upon it. While the 
man of the world is commonly disposed to justify 
and commend himself, the genuine disciple is pre- 
pared to acknowledge that he is less than the least 
of all saints. 

This sense of indwelling sin is one of the elements 
that conduce to the onward progress of the believer. 
Why is it that so many professing Christians, ay, 
and too many true Christians, are not advancing in 
the spiritual life, — are the same this week as they 
were the previous week; the same this year as they 
were the last year; and to all appearance, and unless 
God arouse them, will be the same next week or 
next year as they are this? It is because they are 
contented with themselves and with their condition; 
they have reached a state of self-complacency, they 
have " settled upon their lees," and they do not wish 
to be disturbed by so much as an allusion to their 
sin. Very different was the temper of the Apostle. 
Conscious of the sin that still adhered to him, he 
longed to have it completely exterminated, and 
sought the heavenly aid which might enable him 
to reach that after which he was always striving, — 
" unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature 
of the fulness of Christ." 



CHRISTIAN HUMILITY ILLUSTRATED IN PAUL. I/I 



III. 

The Apostle acknowledged God to be the author of all 
the gifts and graces possessed by him. Paul on more 
than one occasion found it necessary to speak of 
his gifts. He felt himself called to do so in a special 
manner in writing the Second Epistle to the Corin- 
thians. There were individuals in that church who 
had disparaged the office of the Apostle; and he 
found it proper in these circumstances to vindicate 
the powers which had been committed to him. But 
in doing so he feels as if he were going out of his 
usual way, and as if he had to proffer an excuse. 
" Would," says he, " ye could bear with me a little in 
my folly" (2 Cor. xi. 1). And when he follows this 
train of reflection, he arrests himself to explain that 
his faults are his own, and to ascribe the glory of 
his gifts to God : " If I must needs glory, I will glory 
of the things which concern my infirmities." " He 
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 

There may be circumstances requiring us to speak 
of our attainments in the spiritual life; but there 
can be no excuse for our thinking of them or al- 
luding to them in a spirit of complacency. Of all 
pride, spiritual pride is the most hateful, and the 
most lamentably inconsistent. It is absurd enough 
to be proud of the rank or wealth or abilities which 
God has given ; but it is still more foolish and sinful 
to boast of spiritual gifts, which God bestowed at 



172 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



first, and which would instantly vanish if God did 
not sustain them. As pride rises, the grace of God 
departs. The two cannot dwell in one heart any- 
more than Dagon, the god of the Philistines, and 
the ark of the covenant could have a place in one 
temple. When we have become proud of them, the 
graces have already vanished. The graces are no 
longer graces when they are boasted of. They are 
so delicate in their nature, that if we but look upon 
them with an eye of vanity they instantly disappear. 

How often does it happen that when persons are 
suddenly elevated to places of honor, they see nothing 
but their own merits, their own talent, their own 
skill or good management. Elevation of rank thus 
leads in too many cases to an increase of pride and 
vanity. This is painfully illustrated in the history 
of Saul the son of Kish. Setting out in search of 
his father's asses, he received before he returned a 
kingdom, for the discharge of the offices of which 
he had many qualifications. But his rise seems to 
have fostered the morbid vanity of his mind, and 
when this was not fed by constant incense, when 
the Israelites cried, " Saul hath slain his thousands, 
and David his tens of thousands," it led to envy and 
revenge, which goaded him on to deeds of utter 
infatuation. How different with Saul of Tarsus ! At 
every step of his elevation in the church he saw 
the finger of God, and was the more impressed with 
his own unworthiness. He recognized in every tal- 
ent possessed by him the gift of God. Does he 



CHRISTIAN HUMILITY ILLUSTRATED IN PAUL. 1 73 

speak of his apostleship? He explains, " I am called 
thereto by the grace of God." Of his labors? " Not I, 
but the grace of God in me." Of his perseverance? 
" I can do all things through Christ strengthening 
me." Of his success? " God giveth the increase." 
Of his general character? "By the grace of God I 
am what I am." 

IV. 

The Apostle took a high standard of excellence. He 
took as his model the law of God and the character 
of Jesus. 

Others take a lower standard, and hence their in- - 
feriority. They are contented with themselves when 
they give to God the mere outward obeisance of the 
body, or because they pay a general respect to one 
of the tables of the law to the neglect of the other. 
Or they are satisfied with themselves because they are 
as reputable as other professing Christians, or as this 
particular individual who stands high in the church 
or in the world. "They, measuring themselves 
by themselves, and comparing themselves among 
themselves, are not wise." Having taken some low 
standard, and having reached it, they regard them- 
selves with the most perfect satisfaction. Some seem 
to be positively afraid lest they should appear to be 
more concerned about the salvation of their souls or 
more devoted to Christ, than their neighbors. Oh, 
how sad to think that believers, when they look to 
one another, should do so with the view of discover- 



174 GOSPEL SERMONS. 



ing something which may allow them to continue in 
their present low state of attainment, and that they 
should join hand in hand, not to raise each other, 
but rather, like drowning men, to drag each other 
down to a still lower level ! 

All actual excellence, whether earthly or spiritual, 
has been attained by the mind keeping before it 
and dwelling upon the ideas of the great, the good, 
the beautiful, the grand, the perfect. The trades- 
man and mechanic reach the highest eminence by 
never allowing themselves to rest till they can pro- 
duce the most finished specimens of their particular 
craft. The painter and sculptor travel to distant 
lands that they may see and as it were fill their eye 
and mind with the sight of the most beautiful models 
of their arts. Poets have had their yet undiscovered 
genius awakened into life as they contemplated some 
of the grandest of Nature's scenes ; or as they lis- 
tened to the strains of other poets the spirit of in- 
spiration has descended upon them, as the spirit of 
inspiration descended on Elijah while the minstrel 
played before him. The soldier's spirit has been 
aroused even more by the stirring sound of the war- 
trumpet than by the record of the courage and hero- 
ism of other warriors. The fervor of one patriot has 
been created as he listened to the burning words of 
another patriot; and many a martyr's zeal has been 
kindled at the funeral pile of other martyrs. In this 
way fathers have handed down their virtues to their 
children, and those who could leave their offspring 



CHRISTIAN HUMILITY ILLUSTRATED IN PAUL. 1 75 



no other, have in their example left them the very 
richest legacy; and the deeds of those who perform 
great achievements have lived far longer than those 
who do them, and have gone down from one genera- 
tion to another. 

Now the believer has such a model set before him 
in the law of the Lord which is " perfect," which is 
" holy, just, and good ; " and lest he should complain 
that the' law is rather fitted to dazzle him by its ex- 
cessive brightness, he has such a model set before 
him in the character of Jesus, which as it were em- 
bodies the law and exhibits it in the most attractive 
and encouraging light. " Be ye followers of me," 
says Paul ; but adds this most important qualification, 
" even as I am of Christ." We may copy others in 
some things : we should copy Christ in all. It is 
pleasant to see the path in which we walk trodden 
by the footsteps of the flock; but we are to follow 
the flock only so far as they follow the shepherd. 
It is when the believer is looking to Jesus, that by 
grace he becomes assimilated to him. It is when 
looking full into the face of Jesus, that his likeness 
is impressed upon the soul, as we have seen the 
image of heaven reflected on the bosom of a tran- 
quil lake spread out beneath it. "We all with open 
face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 
are changed into the same image from glory to 
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 

Learn (1) The nattire of true humility. We are 
not to understand by it that bashfulness, so becoming 



176 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



in youth, which blushes at the recital of its own 
praise, and wins our confidence and love, when a 
bolder and more presuming address could not com- 
mand them. We are not even to understand by it 
that modesty which shrinks from the very appearance 
of what is unseemly, and would rather be deprived 
of its rights than give occasion of offence, or disturb 
the peace of any. These are lovely natural graces 
which may adorn other and higher principles, as 
leaves do the fruit, or may conceal the absence of 
them. But they do not severally or together amount 
to the spiritual grace of humility. Underneath the 
bashful look and the modest demeanor there may 
be the intensest carnal enmity to God. True humility 
is a Christian grace, and one of the fruits of the 
Spirit, originating in a deep consciousness of sin, 
past and present, and leading us to discover our 
nothingness in the view of God, our insufficiency for 
anything that is good, and prompting us, as we feel 
our infirmities, to strive aftes higher and yet higher 
attainments. 

Learn (2) The advantages of humility. How much 
nobler and more exalting than pride, though pride 
is often recommended by the men of the world as 
the grand means of prompting to great and noble 
deeds ! Pride looks down on that which is beneath, 
and being contented, reckons all further exertion 
unnecessary. Humility, on the other hand, looks up 
to that which is above, and discovering how far it 
falls beneath, it strives to reach up to it. Pride looks 



CHRISTIAN HUMILITY ILLUSTRATED IN PAUL. 1 77 

back upon past deeds, and calculating with nicety 
what it has done, it commits itself to rest; whereas 
humility looks to that which is before and in advance, 
and discovering how much ground remains to be 
trodden, it is active and vigilant, ever marching on. 
Where pride stops, humility proceeds. Having gained 
one height, pride looks down thence with compla- 
cency on that which is beneath it; whereas humility 
looks up to a higher and yet higher elevation. The 
one keeps us on this earth, which is congenial to 
its nature ; the other directs our eye to heaven, and 
tends to lift us up thither. 

" I am less than the least of all saints." Is Paul less 
in heaven because when on earth he felt after this 
manner? No; the man less than the least of all 
saints is now the companion of angels. The pearl 
that glitters on the robe of princes was formed in the 
bottom of the ocean; and the soul that shines as a 
star in heaven is formed in the depths of lowliness 
and contrition. The diamond that shines in the crown 
of kings was found by the skilful eye in the dust 
of the earth, and was trampled under foot by the 
ignorant ; and the jewels that will adorn the crown 
of our Redeemer in the day when he maketh up his 
jewels, are found among the despised, the lowly, the 
penitent on the earth. The eye that now gazes on the 
splendors of heaven would scarcely when on earth 
lift itself up to the place where God dwelleth. So 
true is it that " humility cometh before honor," and 
that " he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as 
wheat : but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not : and 
when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. — Luke 
xxii. 31, 32. 

'T^HE night on which our Lord thus warned his 



beloved, his loving, and yet erring disciple, is 
one much to be remembered by the disciples of 
Christ throughout their generations. On it the 
Lord's supper was instituted ; on it Jesus was in 
agony in the garden of Gethsemane; and on it he 
was betrayed and led to judgment. These circum- 
stances impart an additional emphasis to the words 
of admonition and tenderness which proceeded from 
his lips. He is here represented as seated at the 
table with his disciples. He has the prospect before 
him of a conflict from which the highest archangel 
would have shrunk, and to which he himself, travail- 
ing in the greatness of his strength, never alluded 
except in language of awe. " I have a baptism to 
be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be 
accomplished." But even in view of the tremendous 
scenes before him, he did not forget the poor fish- 
ermen and mechanics whom he had chosen as his 




THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



179 



disciples. He knew that the trials which he could 
surmount were too great for them, and we find him 
in this passage warning all his disciples, and more 
particularly the one who was most apt to fall, be- 
cause he felt as if he stood most securely. " Simon, 
Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may 
sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that 
thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, 
strengthen thy brethren." 



I. 

THE CHARACTER OF PETER. 

While all men are alike in the leading features of 
their characters, giving evidence that they are of 
one blood, they yet differ from one another in 
many not unimportant points. The character of 
Peter is a very marked one. The most careless 
reader of Scripture fully comprehends it, it is so 
vividly delineated in the sacred narrative, chiefly 
through his being placed in a variety of trying situ- 
ations, where his ruling sentiments are called forth 
into action. His character stands out in bold promi- 
nence and relief, like an object situated on a height, 
and seen between us and a clear sky. We notice at 
once his natural sincerity and boldness, his vehe- 
mence and self-confidence ; his liability to be hurried 
away by the tide of events and the current of pre- 
vailing feeling. We perceive that as a disciple of 



i8o 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Christ he is under the guardian care and grace of 
Heaven; but we discover sin lurking within, and 
bursting forth from time to time as the liquid 
fire of the volcano breaks out from the mountain 
whose surface may be covered with the loveliest 
foliage. His love to Jesus was genuine and sincere, 
— for with all his failings Peter was no hypocrite; 
yet he not infrequently resists the will of his Mas- 
ter, and at times is positively ashamed of him. He 
is zealously affected in every good thing, but his 
zeal is often unthinking and impetuous, and pro- 
ceeds from a self-confident and self-righteous rather 
than a humble and trustful spirit of dependence on 
God ; and it comes forth when it should be re- 
strained, and fails when it should flow. These char- 
acteristics of Peter are brought out prominently by 
the incidents recorded of him by the evangelists. 
When Christ put the searching question to his dis- 
ciples, "Whom say ye that I am? " Peter, ever eager, 
was ready with his answer, "Thou art the Christ, 
the son of the living God." How strange to find the 
same disciple immediately after, when Jesus showed 
him that he must needs go up to Jerusalem, and 
there suffer many things, and be put to death, pro- 
ceeding to rebuke his master : " Far be this from 
thee, Lord." When the multitude forsook our Lord 
on one occasion, on his explaining to them the spir- 
itual nature of his kingdom, he turned round to his 
disciples and said, "Will ye also go away? " Peter's 
love is only fanned into a flame by this opposing 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. l8l 

wind, and the answer comes from the depths of his 
heart, "To whom can we go? thou hast the words 
of eternal life." When our Lord warned him, "All 
ye shall be offended because of me this night," 
Peter answered, " Lord, I am ready to go with thee 
both into prison and to death ; " and he did exhibit 
a mistaken zeal and courage in cutting off the high 
priest's servant's ear; yet the same apostle quailed 
before the question of a servant-maid, and with 
cursing and swearing declared that he knew not 
the man. The boldest of all the apostles in preach- 
ing on the day of Pentecost to the assembled 
thousands, and the most zealous in publishing the 
gospel among his countrymen, he was yet tempted 
on one occasion to dissemble and yield to their 
narrow Jewish prejudices, and Paul had to withstand 
him to the face. Such is the individual to whom 
our Lord in this passage gives the solemn warning 
which we now proceed to consider. 



II. 

TEMPTATION OF PETER BY SATAN. 

" Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift 
you as wheat." We see that we are to regard our 
temptations as coming from Satan the tempter, the 
- accuser. He who rebelled against God in heaven 
seeks to thwart his will on earth. With a cherished 
and deeply-seated hatred to the truth and all godli- 



182 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



ness, he is bent on destroying the divine image 
wherever it appears, and proceeds to pollute what is 
pure and to stain what is lovely. In the restlessness 
of pride seeking dominion, of malice ever raging, 
and revenge never gratified, he goeth about like a 
wild beast ravening for its prey; as the apostle ex- 
presses it, " like a lion seeking whom he may de- 
vour." Having succeeded in polluting our race at 
its fountain, he would prevent it from being ever puri- 
fied. He had the presumption in the wilderness, on 
the mountain, and on the pinnacle of the temple, to 
endeavor to turn aside our Lord from his great mis- 
sion ; but being defeated by the Master he now as- 
sails the disciples. About the very time when Jesus 
was warning Peter, he took full possession of Judas 
Iscariot, — " The Devil entered into Judas Iscariot," 
whom he hurried from one crime to another till he 
laid violent hands on himself. May he not succeed 
also with his brother apostle? If he has succeeded 
in making the one betray his Master, may he not 
be able to make the other deny and forsake him? 
May he not work on his eagerness, his impetuosity, 
his self-confidence, till he makes him bring reproach 
upon the cause of his Lord? Were he to accomplish 
this, he feels as if his triumph would be complete. 
Little did Peter think, little does the believer think, 
what stratagems are laid against him, devised by 
fallen angels in the deepest councils of the lowest 
hell. We may all of us have experienced that in these 
temptations which assail us and before which we fall 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



I8 3 



there is such a seductiveness, such an adaptation and 
address to our weaknesses, such a combination of cir- 
cumstances, as to show that there has been a deep 
plotting and a conspiracy against us. 

In tempting us Satan takes advantage of two cir- 
cumstances. He employs the world to seduce us, 
and he addresses the corruption of the heart. First, 
he takes advantage of the circumstances in which we 
are placed, and of the worldly and sinful character of 
those with whom we mingle. Breathing as we do an 
infected atmosphere, we are apt to take in malaria 
which breeds moral disease. We can put ourselves 
into the position of Peter on that eventful and trying' 
evening. Let us follow him for a little. While seated 
at the supper his mind is agitated by alternate joy 
and sorrow, hope and fear. He is happy in the pres- 
ence of the Saviour, but his heart is filled with sorrow 
when he is told of his being about to be speedily 
taken from his disciples. He clings to the idea that 
Christ is to conquer and accomplish a good end, and 
yet sees clearly that there is danger at hand threaten- 
ing a defeat. Under such distracted feelings he fol- 
lows Jesus late at night into the garden of Gethsemane. 
His body is exhausted, not so much by fatigue as by 
the crowded feelings in his bosom ; and though the 
spirit is willing, " yet the flesh is weak ; " and the 
events which he has to witness — the bloody sweat, 
the exceeding sorrow even unto death, the agony, and 
the prayer, " If it be possible, let this cup pass from 
me" — awe and confound him ; and, not knowing what 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



to make of them, he casts himself on the ground and is 
soon sleeping for sorrow. He is roused by the ap- 
proach of a company of officers, with one of his fellow- 
disciples guiding them. In the eagerness of his zeal 
he starts up to defend his Master and wounds one of 
the servants of the high priest, but is rebuked by his 
Master for the spirit which he shows. Conceive now 
the position of this disciple in these bewildering 
scenes. Is not the cause with which he has identified 
himself failing, or rather fallen? Judas, who was 
the treasurer of the little company, has set him an 
awful example. The pharisees, the rulers, the priests, 
the heads of the government, the successors of Aaron, 
those who sit in Moses' seat, are bent on condemning 
the new teacher as a deceiver ; and the people who 
long stood by him are now prepared to abandon him, 
perceiving the nature of the kingdom he was about to 
set up, so different from what they expected. What 
can a poor fisherman far away from his Galilean home 
do in the midst of this formidable opposition? He 
looks round to the other disciples and he sees them 
fleeing, and under the impulse of the moment he fol- 
lows them. After having gone so far as to be out of 
danger he pauses, and prompted by eager curiosity 
and a return of love to his Lord he resolves to follow 
him, but follows at a distance. He ventures into the 
court of the high priest, he sees his Master guarded 
by a company of well-trained Roman soldiers, he 
hears the scoffs and the jeers of the dependents of 
the men of authority, he hears threatenings and 



/ 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



185 



slaughter breathed out all around. He is tempted 
to flee anew from the scene, but anxious " to know 
the end," " he followed afar off," trusting that he is 
not noticed, when suddenly the question is put to him, 
" Art thou also one of this man's disciples? " 

We can conceive how trying the circumstances. 
A being perfectly holy might have stood all this ; but 
Peter was not spotlessly pure. Alas ! his faith was 
weak and inward corruption was strong. There was 
not only the Devil and the world without, there was 
the flesh within. Besides the open enemy, there was 
a traitor within the camp. The robbers outside had 
an accomplice in the house. His views of Divine 
truth were as yet very imperfect, and his faith was 
weak and wavering, and had to contend with personal 
fears. With the wheat there was the chaff, and Satan 
seized the moment to sift him. We see how all things 
without and within combined, under the arch conspir- 
ator, to tempt this disciple ; and when the question was 
put so suddenly, " Art thou one of this man's disci- 
ples?" his courage shook, his faith faltered. " I know 
him not; I know not, neither understand, what thou 
sayest." Being charged a second time, he felt that he 
could not give in without humiliation, and with an 
oath he asseverated that he knew not the man. Once 
more they that stood by identified him and charged 
him with being a follower of Jesus. To confess now 
would be acknowledging a previous falsehood. His 
pride and passion became exasperated to the highest 
degree by the very resistance offered to the truth, 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and he went on to add profanity to lying; "and he 
began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not 
this man of whom ye speak." 

How humiliating the position in which the dis- 
ciple is now placed ! How humiliating in his own 
eyes when he began to look at it ! "I know not 
the man." What! know not the man who had 
called him to the discipleship, the man with whom 
he had companied for years; not know the great 
teacher who had instructed and warned and com- 
forted him; not know the great Master who had 
wrought such miracles, who had healed the sick 
and raised the dead; not know him whom he had 
declared to be the Christ, the Son of the living 
God ; not know him whom he had seen trans- 
figured on the mountain; not know him with whom 
he had sat at the table the previous evening, and 
who had warned him of his danger? What a fall 
from the height on which he had stood a few 
hours before when he had said, "I will follow thee 
into prison and to death " ! How humiliating, too, 
his position in the view of the bystanders, the 
priests, the officers, the mob ! What a view must 
Peter's conduct have given to all around of the 
character of Jesus ! He who had preached the 
glad tidings of salvation throughout Galilee and 
Judea is now ashamed of the gospel itself and of 
the author of it. The multitude would judge of 
the Master by the disciples, — by Judas who had be- 
trayed him for money, by Peter who had become 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



I8 7 



ashamed of him, — and conclude of all alike that 
they were hypocrites and deceivers, and capable of 
the basest deceit. What a reproach is the disciple 
bringing on his Master ! How is Christ wounded 
in the house of his friends ! If the dark spirit of 
Satan can experience any momentary feeling of joy 
and triumph in the turmoil of passions which rage 
and chafe forever, more furious than the fire that 
is not quenched, or the troubled waves of the lake 
of brimstone, we can conceive him rejoicing in the 
thought that Christ's cause was crushed forever. 
The shepherd is smitten and the sheep are scat- 
tered. The Master is to be crucified, and the dis- 
ciples are ashamed of him. 

But God maketh the wrath of man and of devils 
to praise him. Jesus had prayed for Peter, even as 
he is still interceding for his people in heaven ; and 
so his faith, though faltering, did not altogether fail 
him. The sorrows of Jesus arising from the deser- 
tion of friends and the malice of foes were even 
now making atonement for transgression, and from 
this fall Peter was to be raised by an upholding 
hand, and to go forth throughout the world pub- 
lishing that gospel which is eventually to over- 
throw the dominion of Satan and raise the fallen. 
This brings us to consider 



1 88 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



in. 

THE RECOVERY OF PETER, THROUGH THE PRAYER 
OF JESUS SUSTAINING HIS FAITH. 

" Satan hath desired to have thee, that he may 
sift thee as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, 
that thy faith fail not" 

Peter had brought himself into a most humbling 
position, and was careering on from one deed of 
madness to another. Had he been treated accord- 
ing to his deserts, Christ would have allowed him to 
reap as he was sowing. He had denied with an oath 
the Lord that bought him, and Jesus might have left 
him to reap the consequences of his own sin. He 
might have cast him off as he did Judas, and Satan 
might have taken full possession of him as he did 
Judas, and I know not to what far lengths of wicked- 
ness he might have gone. But for the restraints 
laid on him, Peter's case might have been like that 
of the man who swept and garnished his house, 
but who yielded to temptation, and seven spirits 
entered into the empty dwelling, and his latter 
end was worse than the first; he might have been 
tempted to abandon Christ, and give himself up to 
Sadducean unbelief, or to try to find peace in the 
formal rites and traditions of the pharisees. 

It is of vast moment that Christians should know 
wherein lies the secret of their strength. It lies 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 1 89 

first of all in the intercession of Christ, and secondly 
in their remaining faith. 

1. It does not lie primarily in yourselves, — in 
the liveliness of your feelings or the strength of 
your resolutions. When under strong religious sen- 
timent, or when you feel your purpose to be fixed, 
you may conclude that you can never by any pos- 
sibility fall away. Alas ! if your confidence is not 
resting on something more substantial, you will only 
find it terminating in disappointment. Your feelings 
may be lively at present, but what security have 
you that they may not in a very brief period be 
as dull and sluggish as they are now excited and 
elevated? Purposes formed in our own strength are 
like the writing upon the sand which is swept away 
by the first breath of the tempest or the first 
swelling of the tide. There are tides in the moods 
of man's mind just as there are tides in the ocean ; 
and because the tide is flowing now, this is no 
evidence of its continuing to flow, — it may rather 
show that it will soon ebb and recede. The be- 
liever's steadfastness does not lie in himself, but in 
another. His strength is in the foundation on which 
he rests, and that foundation is the Rock of Ages. 
He is kept from falling, not by his native vigor, 
but by the arm on which he leans. Being united 
to Christ in the everlasting covenant, he is safe 
through the care of him who is commissioned to 
watch over him. He has been purchased by the 
blood of Christ, and Christ guards the possession 



IQO GOSPEL SERMONS. 

bought at so great a price, and lest any hurt it 
he watches it night and day. As he died for his 
people on earth, so he pleads for them in heaven, 
and ever appears in the presence of God for them 
in the attitude of intercession. They may, indeed, 
by the power of remaining corruption fall into sin 
which brings them to shame; but from this state 
they will be speedily brought back. Not, be it 
observed, by any meritorious principle in them- 
selves. How was it that Peter was restored? The 
cause was to be found in the work of Christ. " I 
have prayed for thee." He was recovered, not by 
the meritorious power and efficacy of his own 
prayers, but by the prayers of Christ. When Peter 
was brought to repentance he prayed; but there 
is a previous question, — What brought him to re- 
pentance? If Christ had not first prayed for him, 
he had never prayed for himself. " I have prayed 
for thee, that thy faith fail not." You remember 
that in the battle between the Israelites and the 
Amalekites in the wilderness, it was when Moses 
seated on a mountain above held up his hand 
that Israel prevailed. So it is when Christ is hold- 
ing up his hands for us in heaven that we are 
able to conquer on earth. 

2. There was, however, a secondary power, and this 
was Peter's faith. In consequence of the intercession 
of Christ, Peter's faith never altogether failed him. 
Perhaps we are to discover some remaining faith in 
the very circumstance that he followed Christ, though 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



191 



at a distance ; that " he followed afar off." And it is 
ordered that his faith, which for a time seemed to be 
overwhelmed, suddenly springs up with more than 
its former force. Let it be observed that while God 
keeps all those who are truly united to him, he does 
not keep them in sin. When they fall into sin he 
recovers them by bringing them to repentance. It 
was ordered that as Peter was hurrying on in his head- 
long career the cock crew, and at the same time 
Jesus turned round and looked him in the face. By 
the one circumstance he was reminded of his guilt, 
and by the other of the love of Jesus ; and " he went 
out and wept bitterly." 

His crowded bosom may have been agitated for a 
time by a number of conflicting feelings and pur- 
poses. At first pride may have prompted him to 
stifle these rising convictions, so painful in themselves, 
and giving him so humbling a view of his character. 
May I not despise him who is now being condemned 
and is soon to suffer death? May I not give vent to 
my deep passion in setting him at defiance, or by 
joining in the cry of his persecutors? No; he feels 
that were he to do so, he would be kicking like the 
restive ox against the goads of conscience, resisting 
the strivings of the Spirit and the pleadings of love. 
But may I not flee into the desert, bury myself in 
solitude, and forget all that is past? No ; he feels that 
he cannot forget what is past, that the remembrance 
of it will go with him like his shadow wherever he 
goes, and would dwell with him even in the remotest 



192 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



lodging-place in the wilderness. He may now have 
been tempted to conclude that his iniquity is so great 
that it cannot be forgiven. " How indignant was I 
when I saw Judas heading the band of officers ; and 
yet now I have been guilty of sin scarcely less hei- 
nous i " and as he thought of this he may almost 
have been maddened into despair, and may have 
been tempted to act as Judas was doing. 

The apostle (2 Cor. vii.) speaks of two kinds of 
repentance, — "the sorrow of the world that worketh 
death," and the " godly sorrow " that " worketh re- 
pentance to salvation, not to be repented of." Now, 
it is a striking circumstance that both these kinds of 
repentance were exhibited about the same time by 
two apostles. It is said of Judas that he " repented," 
but it was to go out and hang himself. Whatever 
may have been his motives in joining the company of 
the disciples, he never had had faith, and Jesus had 
not prayed for him, and so, drifting along with noth- 
ing to keep him back, he goes to his own place. But 
Jesus had prayed for Peter, and his faith shone forth 
like the sun coming out from a cloud. His despond- 
ing feelings now gave way to more pleasing ones. 
If the crowing of the cock reminded him in so start- 
ling a way of his sin, the look that Jesus gave him 
reminded him of the love in the Saviour's bosom. 
" True, my sin is great, but there is enough of merit 
in the sufferings which Jesus is now enduring to atone 
for it all. It is of the deepest dye, but there is blood 
flowing from the wounds of Jesus to cleanse it all 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



193 



away. It was indeed most ungrateful, most inexcus- 
able in me to deny so kind a master; but it will be 
adding open rebellion to ingratitude, now to turn 
away from that look of love." A sweet view of mercy 
and forgiveness like the look which his loving Master 
gave him now began to dawn upon the darkness, and 
the clouds and the shadows flee away. 

Such feelings as these rose and fell during the two 
days that elapsed before Jesus rose from the dead. 
And " what carefulness it wrought in him, yea, what 
clearing of himself, yea, what indignation, yea, what 
fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, 
what revenge ! " Peter heard of the crucifixion of 
Christ, he heard of his burial, and what a Sabbath did 
he spend on the day that intervened between Christ's 
burial and resurrection ! Possibly never man spent a 
more profitable Sabbath since the first Sabbath when 
Adam and Eve walked amidst the bowers of Eden as 
the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God 
did shout for joy over the birth of a new world. Amid 
all the reproaches he heaped on himself, hope never 
forsook his bosom. Early in the morning of the first 
day of the week he went out to the sepulchre expect- 
ing, and yet scarcely knowing^what to expect. When 
he reached the sepulchre he found it empty. How 
strange ! Soon a message is brought him, " Go and 
tell the disciples and Peter, that the Lord is risen." 
The message is to all the disciples ; but it is specially 
to Peter : " Go and tell Peter." " Why am I singled 
out, — I, who not only fled as the others, but was 

13 



194 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



ashamed of him and denied him?" Surely there 
was never love like this love. What a tumult of 
grateful feelings, of love, hope, joy, now filled his 
bosom ! How he longed to see his Master once more ! 
Christ had prayed for him, and his faith instead of 
failing became stronger. Satan had sifted him as 
wheat, but the storm only blew away the chaff and 
left the wheat purer than it had ever been before. 

It is thus that every believer should act when he 
has been led into sin. Upon coming to discover this 
he should weep bitterly over his sin and come anew 
to the fountain that has been opened for sin and un- 
cleanness. Not only so, but he is to gather lessons and 
additional motives to activity in the service of God 
from his very fall. This brings us finally to consider 

IV. 

THE COMMAND, " WHEN THOU ART CONVERTED, 
STRENGTHEN THY BRETHREN." 

" When thou art converted." Peter had been con- 
verted before, when he had been called from his ships 
on the Lake of Galilee to become a disciple. But 
now he is converted anew. Jude speaks of certain 
hardened sinners as being " twice dead." There are 
some believers who need to be twice converted. 
Their faith is so weak, their affections are so dull, and 
they have so little spiritual life, that they need to 
be convinced of sin and anew quickened in the love 
and service of God. All their graces have become so 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



195 



languid, their affections so carnal, and they are so de- 
voted to the world, that they need to be brought out 
of the horrible pit and the miry clay. Or they have 
fallen into such offensive sin that in order to recover 
them they need very much the same converting grace 
as that which at first brought them to Christ. When- 
ever this is imparted, the soul is rendered greatly 
more lively and zealous in the service of God. 

In this conversion there was much searching. This 
we learn from the interview with which our Lord 
favored Peter after his resurrection. " Simon, son of 
Jonas, lovest thou me?" was the question; and Peter 
could answer, " Thou knowest that I love thee." But 
again the question is put, and Peter gives a like an- 
swer. Yet a third time the same question was put 
and pressed : " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? " 
And Peter was grieved because he asked him this the 
third time. It is evident that the whole scene of his 
fall now rushed upon his mind. He could not but 
discover that as he was thrice questioned in the court 
of the high priest, he should now be thrice ques- 
tioned by our Lord. It was proper that as he had 
thrice denied him he should also thrice confess him. 
Three times had these lips declared, " I know not the 
man," and it was befitting that three times they should 
declare, " Thou knowest that I love thee." The open 
acknowledgment now that he is converted must cor- 
respond to his former denial. His courage must be 
a counterpoise to his previous cowardice. Christ 
freely forgives the sins of those who come to him ; 



196 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



but he demands of them that wherein they have 
sinned in time past they do so no more. 

Brethren, according to the sins of which you are 
conscious, so let your love and zeal now be in the ser- 
vice of God. Have you been at any time ashamed of 
Christ, let this now be an additional reason for your 
glorying only in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Have you done wrong and brought reproach upon 
morality or religion, seek now to do good, were it 
only to counteract the evil. In consideration of all 
that has been done for your soul, see that ye now 
recommend religion to others. 

" Restore unto me," said David, after having fall- 
en into sin and been rebuked by God, — " restore 
unto me the joy of thy salvation ; then will I teach 
transgressors thy way, and sinners shall be converted 
unto thee." Such is ever the blessed issue of the 
soul being restored after a fall. From his fall the 
man has learned the strength of sin and become 
more thoroughly acquainted with the deceitfulness 
of the human heart, the wiles of Satan, and the se- 
ductive influence of temptation, and is therefore 
the better able to warn others. From his recovery 
he has learned experimentally what is the power of 
Divine grace, and is the better able to commend it 
to others. In the reconciliation he has received new 
tokens for good from God, new expressions of favor, 
and his love is greatly increased in consequence; 
and in the strength of that love he would freely give 
to others what he has himself freely received. In 



THE SIFTING OF PETER. 



197 



the grateful consciousness and remembrance of the 
strength he has received he proceeds to strengthen 
the brethren. 

. When Peter was able to say, "Thou knowest all 
things ; thou knowest that I love thee," our Lord said 
unto him, " Feed my lambs," " Feed my sheep," and 
again, " Feed my sheep." In obedience, and in the 
strength of love and grace, Peter went forth to preach 
the gospel everywhere to young and old. 

This is a powerful motive in setting forth Christians 
to do good. One might be inclined to wonder how 
God should have sent forth such men as Peter, weak 
and erring, to preach the gospel of salvation which 
had been purchased by the blood of his own Son. 
Might not angels have been appropriately commis- 
sioned to such a work? But if we reflect further, 
we may see that angels, who had never sinned them- 
selves, could not have addressed sinners so powerfully, 
so tenderly and sympathizingly, as those who had 
sinned and been restored. They of all others could 
tell most impressively of the danger to which men 
are exposed, and the means of escape. Who, I may 
ask, are the best comforters of those that mourn? 
Every one will answer : Those who have themselves 
been in sorrow. They can reach depths and secrets 
of the heart which others cannot reach. They can 
open fountains which will not flow at the command of 
others. Thus it is that Jesus is such a comforter. 
He suffered and became perfect through suffering, and 
is able to sympathize with and succor them that are 



198 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



in trouble. Now, on a like principle men who have 
been converted themselves are best suited to convert 
others. Those who have got strength tell their breth- 
ren where strength is to be had. This motive sends 
forth men to feed the lambs, to feed the sheep, to 
become Sabbath-school teachers, to spread a hallowed 
influence in the social circle, to take part in prayer- 
meetings, to become ministers, to become missionaries. 
" Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will 
declare what he hath done for my soul." When 
God's people have the joy of his salvation, then they 
teach transgressors God's way, and sinners are con- 
verted unto him. 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 



Love is the fulfilling of the law. — Rom. xiii. 10. 
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou 
shalt love. thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well. — James ii. 8. 

IN these passages there is a reference to three 
things, — to Love, to Law, and to a King. I see 
before me an arch set up on earth, and spanning the 
heavens ; the one side is Law, the other side is Love, 
and the keystone binding and crowning the whole 
is God. Our theme is the Royal Law of Love. 
Let us contemplate Love and Law first separately, 
and then in their combination in God. 

L 

LOVE. 

It may manifest itself in two forms, which should 
be carefully distinguished. 

The Love of Complacency. We delight in the 
object or person beloved. It is thus that the mother 
clasps her infant to her bosom ; thus that the sister 
interests herself in every movement of her little 
brother, and is proud of his feats ; thus that the 
father, saying little, but feeling much, follows the 



200 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



career of his son in the trying rivalries of the world; 
thus that throughout our lives our hearts, if hearts 
we have, cling round the tried friends of our youth ; 
thus that the wife would leave this world with lier 
last look on her husband ; thus that the father would 
depart with his sons and his daughters around his 
couch. There is a " last look which love remem- 
bers," — that given, for instance, when the ship moves 
away with the dear friend in it, or when the soul 
leaves the earth to wing its way to heaven. Love 
looks out for the persons beloved. The mother soon 
discovers her son in that crowd ; the blacksmith 

" Hears his daughter's voice 
Singing in the village choir." 

The believer will steal away in fancy from the busy 
scenes of life to meet with his Saviour; and I am 
persuaded that when he reaches heaven he will rec- 
ognize, without requiring to be told, the One whom 
he has so loved when on earth. In a higher sphere 
and in an older age, even from the beginning, the 
love of God, of God who is love, was exercised in 
the fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; for 
the eternal Logos says, " I was daily his delight, 
rejoicing always before him," and " my delights were 
with the sons of men" (Prov. viii. 30, 31). 

The Love of Benevolence. This is a higher form 
of love. In this we not only delight in the con- 
templation and society of the persons beloved ; we 
wish well to them, we wish them all that is good. 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 



201 



" Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them ; for this 
is the law and the prophets." We will oblige them 
if we can; we will serve them if in our power; we 
will watch for opportunities of promoting their wel- 
fare; we will make sacrifices for their good. This 
love is ready to flow forth towards relatives and 
friends, towards neighbors and companions, towards 
all with whom we come in contact; it will go out 
towards the whole family of mankind. We are ready 
to increase their happiness, and in the highest ex- 
ercises of love to raise them in the scale of being, 
and to exalt them morally and spiritually. The love 
of God thus manifests itself in multiplying happiness, 
in spreading holiness. He is not only Light, but the 
Fountain of lights ; and the light that is in him, like 
that of the sun, shines on all around. 

God is known by his works. He made us, and 
not we ourselves. He provides for our wants; he 
cares for us, and is ready to guide and to comfort us. 
Higher than all, "God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
Abraham saw all this in the mount which he called 
Jehovah-jireh : as it is said to this day, " In the mount 
of the Lord it shall be seen." He had been com- 
manded to offer his son in sacrifice ; he had trav- 
elled with him three whole days, exposed to such 
questions : " Behold the fire and the wood : but where 
is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" He had bound 



202 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



him on the altar, and taken up the knife to slay him ; 
but now, to his inexpressible relief, he heard the 
voice, " Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing 
thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from 
me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, 
and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket 
by his horns : and Abraham went and took the ram, 
and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead 
of his son." Abraham must then have compre- 
hended, and we, by paying a visit to that Mount of 
the Lord, can conceive how great the love of God, 
who spared Isaac, but spared not his own Son, but 
gave him freely to the death in our room and stead. 
" Herein indeed is love, not that we loved God, but 
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitia- 
tion for our sins." 

This second is the highest aspect of love. The 
other belongs in man to a lower department of his 
nature. It is an exercise merely of emotional attach- 
ment, and may contain nothing virtuous or holy; 
it may be merely like the attachment of a dog to its 
master. The love of benevolence is of a higher sort ; 
we wish to do good, we strive to do good, to those 
whom we love. The one is like a genial heat in a 
closed apartment; the other is like a fire radiating 
on all around. The one is a lake, reflecting heaven 
on its bosom; the other is a fountain, welling up 
and carrying with it a refreshing influence. " If a 
brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily 
food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 203 

peace, be ye warmed and filled ; notwithstanding ye 
give them not those things which are needful to the 
body; what doth it profit?" It is this love of benevo- 
lence that is " the fulfilling of the law." It flows 
out in a great number and variety of forms : in com- 
passion, in pity, in tenderness, in long-suffering, in 
patience. 

The high priest in old time wore a breastplate with 
twelve precious stones; but every true Christian is 
a priest, and carries on his breast a more ornamental 
tablet, thus described : " Charity suffereth long, and 
is kind ; charity envieth not ; charity vaunteth not 
itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself un- 
seemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, 
thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but re- 
joiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth 
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 
Christians in this world of sin, sorrow, and suffering 
have a means of showing love, such as is not avail- 
able to angels in the spotless mansions of heaven; 
they can, and should, like their great Master, " bear 
the contradiction of sinners," and should " have com- 
passion on the ignorant, and on them that are gone 
out of the way." 

But it may be asked, How can this benevolence 
be exhibited by us towards God, who is independent 
of us, and needs not our aid? The answer is, We 
identify ourselves with him, and strive to promote 
his glory, and the causes in which he is interested. 
We make it our prayer, " Thy kingdom come, thy 



204 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



will be done on earth as it is in heaven." True, we 
have to say (Ps. xvi. 2, 3), " My goodness extendeth 
not to thee ; " but we should add, " but to the saints 
that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom 
is all my delight,'' and in loving whom we feel that 
we are loving God. 

These two forms of love, while they may be dis- 
tinguished, should never be separated. But in fact 
they have often been divorced the one from the 
other. How often do men show the love of com- 
placency without the love of benevolence ! They 
delight in the society of, and they receive gratifica- 
tion from, persons whom they do not seek to benefit. 
They do worse : they injure those to whom they are 
attached, as the ivy is apt to destroy the tree which 
it embraces and adorns. They do so by indulging, 
by flattering, by tempting them. The doting mother 
spoils the child whom she so fondles. The seducer 
ruins the unhappy one whom he clasps in his foul 
embrace. There is a love that is not lovely. What 
is claimed as free love is not love, but lust. It is, in 
fact, a deceptive form of selfishness. For our grati- 
fication and pleasure we lay hold of and hug to our 
bosoms objects which we only corrupt. I apprehend 
that much of human sinfulness consists in tearing 
asunder what should be kept united, in selfishly de- 
lighting in persons, and turning them to our uses 
only to tempt and destroy them. It has often been 
remarked that the worst things are the perversion 
of good things. Abused intellectual gifts make the 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 205 

dangerous villain. Abused sensibilities make the 
accomplished tempter. Abused affections gender the 
keenest of all misery. 

How terrible the chasms produced by sin in our 
world ! That virtuous mother looks with unutterable 
horror upon the conduct of her drunken son; yet 
she would die for him at any moment, provided she 
could thereby save him. Nay, has not sin, by its 
dissevering and destructive power, kept asunder in 
a sense what had ever before been united in the 
mind of God? It has been disputed among theolo- 
gians whether God can love or be a Father to sinners 
yet in their sins. The distinction I have drawn solves 
the question. I cannot very well see how God should 
look on the sinner with complacency. " God is angry 
with the wicked every day" (Ps. vii. 11). "I hate 
them with perfect hatred " (Ps. cxxxix. 22). But, 
on the other hand, he loves the sinner; loves him 
with an everlasting love ; he loves him with the love 
of compassion. " How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? 
how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make 
thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? 
my heart is turned within me, my repentings are 
kindled together." In a like way our Lord was the 
friend of publicans and sinners; not that he ap- 
proved of their conduct, — he reprobated it more 
than the Pharisee did, who turned away from them 
in scorn, — but he wept over the coming doom on 
Jerusalem; and his very purpose in coming to this 
world was to seek and save that which is lost. In 



206 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



this, as in every other particular, we are to copy 
him who has set us an example that we should 
follow his steps. It is not expected of us that we 
should have pleasure in the society of the licentious, 
the selfish, the malignant; but we are to feel for 
them; as human beings we are to pity them, and 
seek to allure them to God and to good. 

II. 

LAW. 

Law was in the nature of God from all eternity, 
and is the instrument of his government ; it was in- 
scribed on the nature of man when he was created ; 
it was graven by God's own finger on the granite 
blocks of Sinai ; it was spoken in gentle and attrac- 
tive tones by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, 
and it is written by God's own Spirit as a new com- 
mandment on the hearts of God's people. It goes 
with man wherever he goes, to tell him, if he is 
prepared to listen to it, what is right and what is 
wrong, and in the end to punish him if he refuses 
to obey. It is so essential a part of his nature that 
it will follow him into the regions below, to torment 
him more than the worm that never dies, than the 
fire that is not quenched. 

That law has been broken, but is still binding. 
When Moses came down from the Mount with the 
two tables, he threw them from him, and broke 
them, as he witnessed the wickedness of the children 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 20J 

of Israel. But he had just to reascend the Mount 
and have them written again by God's own finger. 
Which thing may be unto us for an allegory. Man 
has broken God's law; but that law retains all its 
claims, and ever renews them. The law is embodied 
in the gospel. All this was instructively represented 
in the ark of the covenant, laid up in the holiest of 
all, and typifying the new covenant. On the lid 
of it were the cherubim, overshadowing the blood- 
sprinkled mercy-seat ; and the promise was given : 
" There will I meet with thee, and I will commune with 
thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the 
cherubim." But within the ark were the two tables 
of stone. Christ came not to destroy the law, but to 
fulfil ; the gospel, wherever it goes, carries within it 
the law fulfilled by Christ, the law still binding on his 
followers. There is a sense in which believers are 
free from the law ; they are free from its curse : but 
in another sense they are still under it; they are 
not free from the obligation to obey it. When sin- 
ners come to Christ he welcomes them. He says, 
Your sins be forgiven you ; but he does not give 
them liberty to go back to their sins, but, " Go, and 
sin no more." Just as the father, after rejoicing over 
the return of his prodigal son, tc^ok him into his 
house to keep him in safety, so our Heavenly Father 
takes us into his family to train us to obedience. 
When the sinner comes to Christ, Christ pays his 
debts ; but it is only to send him to pay his dues 
not in the oldness of the letter, but the newness of 



208 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



the spirit. In heaven itself the soul, brought into 
unison with the law of love, will be fulfilling it to 
perfection; and the music of heaven will consist 
essentially in attuned hearts, each breathing its own 
melody, and all in harmony, — hearts in accord with 
the heart of God, and in accord with one another, 
and fulfilling the pleasure of God for ever and ever. 

The law has two marked features. 

It is imperative. It speaks as one having au- 
thority; it speaks in the name of God. It says, 
"Thou shalt do this, thou shalt not do that." "The 
Categorical Imperative " was the designation given 
it by the great German metaphysician. Its func- 
tion is not to tell us what is, but what ought to 
be. All its affirmations are commands; all its ne- 
gations are prohibitions. It has rewards rich and 
numerous for those who obey it; it has penalties 
certain and terrible for those who transgress it. God 
has a vicegerent to sustain it in the conscience, 
"which shows the work of the law written in their 
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and 
their thoughts the mean while accusing, or else ex- 
cusing one another." There is a witness within which 
constrains us to acknowledge its right to obedience. 

It is determinative. It is categorical; it has its 
definite requirements which it cannot forego, and 
will not lower. " Guilty or not guilty," are the al- 
ternatives it proposes. It admits of no middle course 
or compromise ; it accepts of no excuse ; it will not 
listen to any plea or extenuation. 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 209 

In this respect the order, the regularities of the 
physical world resemble it. Hence for the last two 
hundred years they have been called laws, — laws 
of Nature, as supposed to have been enacted by 
a law-giver. It is interesting to notice that they 
have been called "ordinances" in Scripture (Ps. 
cxix. 91). "They continue this day according to 
thine ordinances: for all are thy servants." We hear 
much in these times of the laws of Nature, of their 
being so fixed and immutable. Those who speak 
in this way are apt to forget that there is another 
law which is still more unchangeable, and shall abide 
when the heavens are rolled up like a scroll. It is 
by these two kinds of law, the one Moral, the 
" greater light," and the other Natural, " the lesser 
light," that God rules our world; by the one moral 
agents, by the other physical agents, making them 
all combine and conspire towards one good and 
grand end. 

In one respect the two are alike : both are inflexi- 
ble. But they differ. The laws of Nature admit of 
no exceptions. They cannot be changed except by 
him who appointed them. The will of man cannot 
arrest them. Gravitation is as ready to bring down 
an unsupported stone to crush us, as it is to keep 
the earth moving on beneficently in its sphere. The 
winds which drive on the vessel one day may sink 
it in the deep the next. The chemical affinities 
which prepare food to nourish us are ready to mix 
poison to kill us. On the other hand, moral laws 

14 



210 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



may be broken. We are now in the region of the 
will. In order to be a moral agent man must be 
a free agent. Love that is constrained is not love. 
Morality compelled is not true morality. So moral 
law may be broken, while physical law cannot. But 
moral law, properly understood, is quite as inflexi- 
ble, as unrelenting, as natural law. If we neglect 
the laws of health, the consequences may be disease 
or death; but if we violate the laws of morality, 
the consequences may be, must be, much more 
fatal in a condemning conscience, or in judgments 
to descend in this life or the life to come. Natural 
law, which moves on so regularly, so irresistibly, 
so beneficently, is the fittest outward type and 
emblem of that moral law which rules the heaven 
and controls the earth. 



III. 

RELATION OF LOVE AND LAW IN GOD. 

The planet is held in its sphere by two influences : 
one impelling, the other staying it. So it is with 
moral beings ; they are drawn by love, but it is love 
regulated by law. It is well that the earth should 
have an attraction towards the sun, without which 
it would wander into an outer region of coldness, 
darkness, and destruction ; but were there no restrain- 
ing power it would be drawn into the sun's atmos- 
phere, and be consumed by his heat. In like man- 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 



211 



ner, moral excellence implies of necessity these two 
things, love and law; the one to attract, the other 
to guide in the right path. 

It is not easy to embody in human conceptions, 
and to express in human language, the relation of 
law and love. We know that the two are closely 
connected. Their connection is in God, the source of 
both. Even as God is the origin of all other things, 
— of nature, of force, of matter, of mind, — so is he 
also the origin of love and law. All these streams, 
if we follow them up sufficiently far, carry us to 
the fountain. Love is the refreshing water ; the law 
is the channel for it to flow in; and the spring is 
the bosom of God. " Let us love one another, for 
love is of God." Charity is the highest of all the 
graces : " There abideth these three, — faith, hope, 
and charity ; but the greatest of these is charity." 
But then charity never tries to set itself above law ; 
if it did so, it might work only mischief. " Love is 
the fulfilling of the law." Love takes the form of a 
commandment. When asked by the lawyer, " Which 
is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said 
unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. 
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments 
hang all the law and the prophets." Thus indissolu- 
bly are charity and commandment joined in Scrip- 
ture. It is love that makes us like unto God, who 



212 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



is love ; but the love of God is a love regulated by 
eternal justice. 

We cannot by any process of analysis get rid 
of either of these elements. Defective systems of 
ethics arise from omitting one or other, or not giv- 
ing each its due place. A stoic, a pharisaic morality 
leaves out love, and presents only the expression- 
less form of law. Utilitarianism leaves out eternal 
and unchangeable obligation, and offers a flexible 
morality, suiting itself to supposed results. My illus- 
trious predecessor, Jonathan Edwards, the greatest 
thinker that this country has produced, in whose 
dazzling beams the others of us appear merely as 
the smaller planets passing over the disc of the 
sun, has made a bold attempt to resolve all vir- 
tue into love. But then he has to make it love 
to being as being. The very statement shows that 
there is another element as well as love. There 
is love to being as being, showing that being has 
claims, and that there must be some means of de- 
termining the claims of being as being. We ought 
to love God and our neighbor. Yes, but whence 
this word " ought," so full of meaning? Why should 
I love any one but myself? Our deepest nature 
gives the response, and will continue to do so, 
whether we attend to it or no. All this implies that 
alongside of love there is law, commanding and de- 
manding. Far as the eye can reach, the two are 
seen to run parallel. I do not say that they never 
meet, for they meet in the nature of God and of all 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 



213 



holy beings; and, though often dissevered here, they 
will meet at last in the character of saints in heaven, 
with whom love will be law, and law will be love. 

" What therefore God hath joined together, let not 
man put asunder." There is no propriety in drawing 
invidious comparisons as to the relative importance 
of the two. It might be argued that law is the 
higher; for it commands love, says when it is to 
flow, and where it is to stay. But then love is the 
very end for which the law exists; the end of the 
commandment is charity. Law without love is a 
mere form without life ; love without law is a life 
without a body in which to reside. Law without love 
is a channel without a stream ; love without law may 
be a stream bursting forth and spreading destruction. 
Let the two revolve round each other like binary 
stars, each with its own color, the one the comple- 
ment of the other. Let Righteousness stand forever 
on the pedestal on which he has been set up, with 
his high look and unbending mien, the master and 
the guardian ; and ever beside him, beneath him, and 
leaning upon him, yet beautiful and graceful as he, 
let there be seen Love, with smiles upon her face 
and gifts in her hands. 

I believe they were never separated till sin ap- 
peared. Alas ! that seducer and corrupter has sev- 
ered them. There has arisen a stern doctrine, which 
has no tenderness; whose gaze is as unmoved and 
immovable as that of the Egyptian sphinx looking 
out from its desert of sand. If there be theologians 



214 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



still dwelling in a cold palace of ice, I recommend 
them to let the beams of the Sun of Righteousness 
shine upon it and thaw it. I look upon the Shorter 
Catechism as upon the whole the best compend of 
Scripture truth which we have in any language ; but 
I have sometimes felt that there is less of love in 
it than there is in the Scriptures, and that it serves 
a good end when the teacher puts a smile upon its 
countenance to attract the youth who has to learn 
it. It was rather an empty ark which they had 
to look into in Solomon's time, when they found 
nothing there but the tables of stone, and not their 
accompaniments, — Aaron's rod that budded, signi- 
fying life from the dead ; nor the pot of manna, typi- 
fying food for the weak. But the defect I am now 
speaking of belongs rather to the seventeenth than 
the nineteenth century. We are now more in dan- 
ger of a sentimental and a simpering faith, acting 
the part of a Delilah, professing love to the man 
who boasts that he is strong, only in the end to 
show how weak he is, and to consign him to blind- 
ness and darkness. Let us have charity, they say: 
but charity without principle to guide it may dis- 
tribute its gifts very indiscriminately and injuriously. 
Let us have fire, they insist : but we cannot have fire 
without fuel to feed it; and fire cannot be allowed to 
burn and consume in every place, and as it pleases. 
There should be a vessel to contain the pleasant 
incense that we offer, otherwise it will soon dissipate 
into inanity. 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 



215 



By all means let us make our religion attractive, 
as attractive as the character of Jesus. But Jesus 
came to fulfil the law and the prophets ; and while 
he allowed the woman that was a sinner to bathe 
his feet with her tears, he drove out those who pol- 
luted his temple, and made those fall back who as- 
sailed him. And we read of what I suppose is the 
most terrible thing in the universe, " the wrath of the 
Lamb." • It is doubtless to this that reference is 
made when it is said that " our God is a consuming 
fire." If we would make love to fulfil its divine 
mission, we must associate with it the eternal truth 
with which it is combined in the Word. Let us 
never allow ourselves to suppose that we can im- 
prove the Scriptures by shearing off some pointed 
truths supposed to be offensive. Let the sun shine 
there in the heavens in all its brightness, even though 
it should dazzle our eyes ; we need all its light to 
show us the way in which we should walk ; the plants 
need all its heat to mature and to ripen them. There 
are statements in that Word of which I wished, as 
I remember, in the petulance of youth, that they 
had not been there. But I have been made by 
experience, often bitter, to see the truth and awful 
importance of them. Whether we see it now or no, 
all believers will see in the end that "all Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction 
in righteousness, that the man of God may be per- 
fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 



2l6 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



There is a theology called the orthodox, sometimes 
known as the Princeton theology, defended by good 
and great men some of them now seeing the truth 
still more clearly in the mansions above, but some 
of them still spared to us. It is in fact simply the 
Reformation theology. It is the theology of Paul 
in all his epistles. If any of us have in any respect 
fallen beneath the spirit of Jesus and of the Word, 
let us acknowledge our fault and amend ; but we 
dare not meanwhile abandon the truth which has 
been held so firmly and defended so ably among 
us. If any of us have been supercilious, saying, 
" Stand by, for I am holier than thou," let us hasten 
to bow ourselves at the feet of Jesus, and learn of 
him to be meek and lowly. If any have allowed 
their orthodoxy, like the frost, to cover over and 
cool their humanity, let them place their hearts 
under the beams of him who " maketh his sun to 
rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth his rain 
on the just and the unjust," and their systems will 
be better. But whatever improvement we may make 
in cultivating and cherishing the spirit of char- 
ity, there is one thing we can never do, and that 
is, to lower the standard of doctrine or of duty. 
Amidst the shiftings of human fancy and speculation 
which spring up and wither like grass, Bible truth 
is founded as on a rock, and " endureth forever." 

It is true that there have been men who have 
preached or practised a pharisaic morality; that is, 
a law without love. A law has been set forth and 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 



217 



enforced which is not the law of love, and has driven 
men away from God, who is love, and from the 
gospel, which is essentially a message of reconcilia- 
tion from God to sinful men. The terrors of the 
law have been used, not as by Paul to persuade men, 
but to tempt or drive them to rebellion or resistance. 
In ages past law has been used lawlessly by mon- 
archs and by masters. But in the present day the 
tendency, seems all the other way. If there were 
tyrannies in Old World monarchies which we in 
these times are not slow to condemn, there is licen- 
tiousness in New World republics which it might 
be as useful and important for us to expose and 
condemn. If fathers erred two centuries ago in 
being somewhat too rigid with their children, it is 
possible that in these times they may not be suffi- 
ciently faithful in restraining self-indulgence and in 
training to habits of self-sacrifice. If some preachers, 
in ages gone by, preached hell and damnation in- 
stead of Christ, it is possible that some in these 
times are so relaxed by a weak charity that they 
have not the courage or faithfulness to bid men flee 
from the wrath to come. If there have been preach- 
ers in certain ages who insisted on nothing but 
stern duty, there are not a few in our day who rec- 
ommend love without the due restraints of law, who 
are tampering with the marriage relation, lowering 
the sacredness of wedlock, and allowing such liberty 
of divorce as is fitted to break up the family, — which, 
I may remark, is the only means of securing proper 



218 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



moral culture, and training the rising generation to 
virtue. More evil may arise from lawless love which 
is fascinating, than from hatred which is repulsive. 
There is a teaching in our day antagonistic to the 
old and orthodox theology. It does not take, it 
cannot be made to take any -scientific form. It 
would let down doctrine and exalt charity, and would 
thereby make religion easier and more attractive — 
as they suppose. It is " Broad Church " in Eng- 
land, delivering itself from all creed. It is the 
" Religion of Humanity " in this country, instead of 
the " Religion of Divinity for Humanity." It would 
free humanity from certain restraints and sacrifices, 
with the view of exalting it. It is not just the same, 
but it is analogous to the attempt in the last century 
to do away with doctrine on the pretence of exalting 
morality, and which led to dry High Churchism in 
England, to Moderatism in Scotland and Ulster, to 
Rationalism on the Continent of Europe, and to 
Unitarianism in this country; and ended in all in 
the decay of religion and the lowering of morality. 
The new gospel which has appeared among us is 
evidently running a like career. Doctrine is dis- 
carded first, duty goes next, in the next man or the 
next age. 

It is a profound saying of one of the brothers 
Hare : " To form a correct judgment concerning the 
tendency of any doctrine, we should rather look at 
the forms it bears in the disciples than in the teacher. 
For he only made it: they are made by it." We 



THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE. 219 

may now see the kind of characters that are made 
in this school of love and humanity. There was first 
a turning away from the old doctrine, and this has 
been followed by a turning away from the old mo- 
rality. The worship of humanity will not tend to 
elevate humanity. If religion is to have any elevat- 
ing tendency, it must look up to and worship that 
which is above it and tends to draw us to it. " It 
is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, 
and him only shalt thou serve." 

Love and Law, with God in both, is the sum of 
all morality. We should regard it as our highest 
end to come under the two in their union. The one 
will give motive to exertion, which will be directed 
in the right way by the other. The one will impel 
to all that is good, the other will restrain from all 
evil. The one will set you out and carry you on 
in the journey, the other will show you the path 
you ought to take. The one will be the spring of 
waters, the other the channel in which to flow. The 
one will be the centrifugal, the other the centripetal 
force, to keep you circulating round the Sun of 
Righteousness. The two will guide and guard you 
through life and on to heaven, where they melt into 
one in God's character and in yours, and love will 
be law, and law love. 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 



Henceforth know we no man after the flesh. — 2 Cor. v. 16. 

" If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : 
old things are passed away; behold, all things are 
become new." As a new creature, he who is in 
Christ takes a new view of almost all the objects by 
which he is surrounded, or which he is called to 
contemplate. The eyes of his understanding being 
enlightened, he sees them in a new light, — and that 
a true light, — and not under the false lustre which 
before hid their character; in other words, he sees 
them no longer after the flesh, that is, according to 
corrupt human nature, but after the spirit, as a spirit- 
ually-enlightened man does. He gets a new view 
of sin ; before, he was dallying with it and seeking 
to extract pleasure from it for a season, rolling it 
as a sweet morsel under his tongue, regarding it as 
something light and trifling and easily forgiven; 
now, he sees it to be exceeding sinful, — its sweets 
to be obtained only with the penalty of its sting 
being thrust into him. He gets a new view of 
Christ ; before, he knew him after the flesh, nor 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 221 



did he see his need of him, and often felt as if 
Jesus were troubling him ; and his feeling was, 
" What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of 
Nazareth ? " now, he sees him as the very Saviour 
he needs, and looks upon him as the chief among 
ten thousand, and altogether lovely ! He takes a 
new view of time and of this world : before, they 
seemed to him as if they were all in all as he sailed 
along their creeks and eddies ; now, they are discov- 
ered to be but bays in the great ocean of eternity, 
seen stretching before him as an ocean without a 
shore. He takes a new view of himself : for long he 
regarded himself with feelings of self-complacency; 
but now, his pride being broken down, he sees him- 
self as God sees him, and repents in dust and ashes. 
Among other objects seen in a new light, he takes 
a different view of his fellow-men. Henceforth he 
knows no man after the flesh. 

But before enlarging on this subject, there is an 
error at the other extreme against which we need to 
be warned : it is the mistake of those who would cast 
aside human nature that they may the better glorify 
God. Now, human nature, as God made it at first, 
and as God, by his Spirit, may make it anew, is in 
itself the grandest object which our world presents. 
" On earth there is nothing great but man ; in man, 
nothing great but mind." Let us not try to mutilate 
it, much less to destroy it, by cutting off branches or 
limbs, which will only make the frame one-sided and 
misshapen. I am sure that a monk — a priest sepa- 



222 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



rated from all tender domestic ties — is not the per- 
son likely to do most good in families, to gain the 
confidence of anxious mothers and of little children. 
I am not sure that the stiff formalists or the narrow- 
evangelicals of modern Protestantism are the best 
fitted to gain the hearts of the great mass of the peo- 
ple, — say of young men and maidens, with wicked 
hearts no doubt, as we all have, but not more wicked 
because these persons, from their age, are buoyant 
and playful. Of this I am sure, that they are the 
best Christians, that they are likely to be the most 
influential ministers, who obey the apostolic command, 
and " rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with 
them that weep." Did not Jesus assume our nature for 
this, among other ends, that he might more effectually 
win the hearts of men, women, and children, who are 
thereby encouraged to come to him ; while others, like 
the apostles, might forbid them? " For verily he took 
not on him the nature of angels ; but he took on him 
the seed of Abraham." " Wherefore in all things it 
behoved him to be made like unto his brethren." The 
human love of the Saviour attracts us human beings 
quite as much as his divine love. He was called by 
his disciples " the Son of God ; " he called himself 
" the Son of Man." " Jesus wept " is the shortest 
verse in the Bible, but no verse has been more effec- 
tive in drawing men's hearts to Jesus. By all means, 
as we point men's eyes to him, say, " Ecce Deus ! " 
for we may see his divinity shining through the veil 
of his humanity; but let us also say, " Ecce homo ! " 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 223 

for it is his humanity which first meets our eye. In 
heaven, when we look up to it, we see " him that sit- 
teth on the throne," but we see also " him that was 
slain ; " we see the throne, but " in the very midst of 
it a lamb as it had been slain." By all means let us 
seek to have more of the divine nature of which we 
are partakers, having been made in the divine image 
at first, and as being created anew in the divine like- 
ness, and let us seek to have this divinity shining 
brighter and brighter within us; but let us not 
neglect, at the same time, to cherish and cultivate 
our humanity, and among other things, our social 
and sympathetic feelings. I believe that a man is 
better fitted than an angel would be to address man- 
kind. I am sure that a converted sinner, under Christ, 
is the most appropriate of all agents for speaking to 
sinners. The man who has escaped the fire is the 
most likely to be earnest and practical in urging and 
helping others to flee from it. The mother who has 
lost a child is the best fitted to speak to another 
mother grieving over the death of a dear boy. On a 
like principle I maintain that one who has rejoiced 
and suffered, who has hoped and feared as man, is 
the best adapted to address a fellow-man in his joys 
and in his sorrows. 

But, on the other hand, the man who is a new 
creature in Christ Jesus is led to take a new and 
higher view of his fellow-men, and, in conse- 
quence, to perform certain duties toward them. In 
particular : — 



224 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



I. 



We have come to see the worth of our own souls, and 
we know that the souls of others are of equal worth. 
Christians, there may have been a time when you set 
no value on your own souls ; when you were going 
about inquiring, " Who will show us any good? " and 
at that time, having no concern about the salvation 
of your own souls, you felt little or no interest in the 
redemption of the souls of others. But now you 
have seen that " the redemption of the soul is 
precious." What were a man profited if he were 
to gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? 
You now really believe this, and feel yourselves, 
in consequence, to be surrounded by immortal be- 
ings, the worth of whose souls you cannot estimate. 
The father knows and realizes that these children 
who cluster round his knee in the evening when he 
comes home from his labors have souls, which, like 
his own, will exist forever. The mother, as she 
rocks her infant to rest on her bosom, knows that 
the heart which has begun to beat in that little 
frame will not find rest till it is laid on the breast 
of Jesus. Every brother and sister and dear friend 
and companion you have, every person you meet 
with in the social party and in the market-place, 
has a soul which, like your own, will be existing 
in that bright world above or that dark world be- 
low, when ten thousand millions of ages have run 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 225 

their course. Every man we meet with in this 
world, though we should never meet with him 
again, will meet with us at the day of judgment. 
Ay, the wicked will there meet with those with 
whom they sinned when on earth, — with those 
whom they seduced by their influence, their exam- 
ple, or their false reasoning, into sin or error. My 
friends, we are not surrounded by the mere crea- 
tures of - a day, with whom we may pass our time 
in utter levity, saying, " Let us eat and drink, for 
to-morrow we die ; " we are encompassed by re- 
sponsible and undying men, whose souls shall ex- 
ist as long as the angels exist, as long — with 
reverence be it spoken — as long as God himself 
exists ! What manner of persons ought we to be 
in such society? How dare ye sin in such com- 
pany, and among such witnesses? When the eyes 
of hundreds look up towards us ministers on the 
Sabbath, we must have something carefully fore- 
thought to tell them in the name of Christ. When 
they would sleep, bodily or mentally, in their pews, 
we must ring in their ears a message like that 
which came from the mariners to Jonah: "Arise, 
thou sleeper, and call on thy God ! " 

II. 

We see that as by nature we are under the sen- 
tence of condemnation, so others are under the same 
sentence. There may have been a time when we 

15 



226 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



had no sense of the evil of sin; we loved sin, and 
had pleasure in them that loved it, like ourselves. 
But now, our consciences being awakened to see 
how offensive sin is, we feel that we have to look 
abroad on a world lying in wickedness, in rebellion 
against its Maker and its Judge. Not that such a 
view as this will make the Christian feel less inter- 
est in his fellow-man, or tempt him to retire from 
the world in disgust. Such considerations will rather 
tend to rouse him from his torpor, to quicken and 
animate his love, as the breeze fans the flame. 
When is it that we think most of an earthly friend, 
and are most deeply interested in his welfare? Is 
it when he is known to be in safety, dwelling in 
security in the bosom of his family, far from vio- 
lence or accident? Or is it not rather when he 
is in peril in the midnight journey, where rob- 
bers infest the path, or deep and rapid rivers have 
to be crossed, sweeping many an unguarded trav- 
eller from this world to the next; or living in a 
scene where he is breathing infection, or in which 
the arrows of death are flying all around? When 
is it that the wife thinks most of the husband, and 
the sister feels the deepest interest in the brother? 
Is it not when laid on a bed of distress, or when 
fighting with the billows of death? A love is 
then kindled which never burned before, and tears 
flow from eyes, the very fountains of which seem 
to have dried up by the scorching power of this 
world's anxieties. When does the mother think 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 227 

most of the son who is on the wide ocean? Is it 
when it is so calm that it reflects the image of 
heaven upon its bosom ; or, ruffled by the breeze, 
only to bear on the vessel? Is it not rather when 
the winds are raging round her dwelling, and in 
the sleepless night she pictures the vessel sinking 
in the awful depths, and hears the cry of her boy 
out from the roaring billows? My friends, it is the 
circumstance that man is lost, while yet he may 
be saved, which awakens that peculiarly deep and 
tender feeling in the breast of the believer ! It was 
for the sake of the lost sheep that the shepherd 
penetrated into the wilderness ; it was for the sake 
of the lost piece of money that the woman lighted 
the candle and swept the house; it was in com- 
passion towards the lost son that the father ran out 
to meet him and embrace him in his arms. It was 
because the Father so loved the world that he gave 
his Son to suffer and to die for it. It was to 
seek and save that which was lost that Christ left 
the bosom of the Father and came to this cold 
world, and died amidst the agonies of the cross. 
Those who have the same mind in them which 
was also in Christ Jesus, will love the world which 
he loved; will, like him, when they see the mul- 
titude, have compassion on them, — have compas- 
sion on the ignorant, and on those who are " out 
of the way," and will hasten to be fellow- workers 
with him in saving souls from death. 



228 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



III. 

As having attained the enjoyment of Christ's peace 
ourselves, we seek that others may share it with us. 
As long as we were without Christ and Christ's 
peace, we did not know the value of them, and so 
could not be expected heartily to recommend them 
to others, — just as the blind man cannot be ex- 
pected to speak of the beauty of colors, or the 
deaf man of the loveliness of music. But when we 
have "tasted that the Lord is good;" when Christ 
has " become precious to us, as he is to all them 
that believe," then we can enlarge upon our own 
experience, — " Out of the fulness of the heart the 
mouth will speak." We have sold all that we have 
— our self-righteousness, our conceit, our lusts — 
to buy that pearl. We find that its worth is far 
more than the price paid for it; and so we can 
confidently commend it to others. We would not 
ourselves part with that peace for all that the world 
can give, for all its wealth and honors ; and we feel 
that if we were but the instruments of communi- 
cating that peace to others, we would be convey- 
ing a greater amount of good than by the largest 
temporal benefits. Parents cannot leave their chil- 
dren a legacy so great as this. All God's people 
feel that they must share this blessing with others, 
and feel that they cannot bestow on their friends 
any gift so valuable. Without this, every good we 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 229 



bestow may turn out an evil; with this, the value 
of every other good will be immeasurably enhanced. 
"When God's people have the joy of his salvation," 
then, as is said in Psalm fifty-first, they teach trans- 
gressors God's way, and sinners are converted unto 
him. 

IV. 

When we love Christ ourselves \ then our hearts 
are drawn towards those who, like 7cs> love the Lord 
yesus. Man is, in his very nature, a social being. 
It is not good for man to be alone. He seeks for 
companionship, and the feelings which prompt him 
are gratified in the enjoyment of it. The principle 
on which man seeks for fellowship is that of kin- 
dred tastes. It is this principle abused, which con- 
gregates the wicked. They will speedily, as if by 
instinct, find out each other, and delight in each 
other's society and in the social gratification of their 
gross tastes. It is the same attraction, no longer 
perverted, but now sanctified, which brings together 
the children of God. Their common faith and love 
to a common God and Saviour, their heaven-born 
tastes and aspirations, will form a stronger bond 
of union than any that can band the men of this 
world together. They will seek out one another, 
they will be drawn to one another when they meet, 
and they will reciprocate one another's feelings. 
Should there be persons who have come from the 



230 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



same district, who have been taught in the same 
school, who have worshipped in the same church, 
and who are now residing in the same foreign land, 
would they not, as it were, look out for one 
another, and, as they meet, recur to the scenes of 
their childhood and of their beloved land, — perhaps 
beloved, now that they are away from it, more than 
even when they were dwelling in it? And if men 
are thus prompted to fellowship by native feeling, 
will not those who are born from above, and who 
are citizens of heaven, — will not they, too, in this 
foreign land in which they are pilgrims and stran- 
gers, feel that they have many connecting links and 
ties of sympathy; and will not they, too, seek for 
fellowship one with another, and with all w r ho, in 
every place, call on the name of the Lord Jesus? 
Those brothers and sisters who for many years 
have been members of the same family, love to 
meet with each other from time to time, to talk 
perhaps of the love and wisdom of a father, or 
mother, or brother, or sister gone before to the 
other world ; and are not Christians all of one 
family, and why should they not meet to speak of 
a common Father in heaven, and of One who con- 
descends to be called our elder Brother? "Then 
they that feared the Lord spake often one to an- 
other : and a book of remembrance was written 
before him for them that feared the Lord, and that 
thought on his name." And who often has it hap- 
pened that, when holding sacred converse with one 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 231 

another, Jesus himself has joined them, as he did 
the two disciples on the road to Emmaus when 
they were conversing of the decease which he ac- 
complished at Jerusalem ! And though their eyes 
are let so that they do not see him, yet their 
hearts burn within as he talks with them and 
opens to them the Scriptures, and they know that 
it has been the Lord. 

V. 

These views and motives will impel those who 
are swayed by them to do good as God may give 
them opportunity . " These words which I command 
thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou 
shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and 
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, 
and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou 
liest down, and when thou risest up." And there 
is a close and intimate connection between these 
two things, — between having the law in the heart, 
and teaching it to others. All genuine religion be- 
gins within, in the grace of God communicated to 
the heart, and forming there a well of living waters 
springing unto life eternal. But while it begins 
within, it does not end there; it begins within only 
as all streams commence in some mountain where 
are their heaven-fed fountains; but it flows out like 
the stream, and carries with it a refreshing and 
fertilizing influence. The grace of God in the 



232 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



heart is represented as a seed, becoming a plant; 
as leaven, permeating the whole mass ; as a new 
birth, growing to maturity; as a fire, becoming a 
flame. Supposing that he himself has got the new 
life, he will be anxious that others may possess the 
same. He may first be anxious about those of his 
own household, — his relatives and his friends; what 
has given peace to himself he knows will give peace 
to them, and so he goes and tells them of the 
treasure he has found. We see this illustrated in 
the case of the apostle Andrew. Having been 
called to be a disciple of Jesus, he abode with him 
one day, and that one day was sufficient to show 
him how delightful was his society; and on the 
morrow he went in search of his brother Peter, 
and told him what he had found. " He first find- 
eth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, 
We have found the Messias ; which is, being in- 
terpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to 
Jesus." 

It is in this way that the believing husband is 
sanctified, or blessed, to the unbelieving wife, and 
the believing wife is sanctified to the unbelieving 
husband. How often have husbands who obey not 
the Word been won in this way by the conversa- 
tion of their wives, while they behold their chaste 
conversation coupled with fear. In this way parents 
have been blessed to their children, and standing 
before God have been enabled to say : " Here am 
I, and the children which thou hast given me." 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 233 

Watering, in this way, the objects immediately 
around them, Christian faith and zeal will flow to- 
wards more distant objects, towards particular dis- 
tricts and countries, and towards the world at large. 
The prayer will be that, beginning at Jerusalem, — 
that is, at home, — the gospel be preached to every 
creature. But what can I do for the benefit of 
the church and world? is the question put by many, 
— some not anxious to do anything, and some not 
seeing how they can do anything. Now, it is quite 
true that if the whole work were to devolve on 
any one of us, we never could accomplish it. But 
the work is to be accomplished, not by every man 
doing the whole, but by every one laboring in his 
own sphere; as the walls of Jerusalem were re- 
built, not by every man seeking to build the whole 
wall, but building the part opposite his dwelling, 
so that it is recorded of this man and of that man 
that he built such a part of the wall lying oppo- 
site to his house; and of a particular person, who 
does not seem to have had a house, but to have 
been simply a lodger, that he built the part oppo- 
site his chamber. So it is by every one building 
the part of the wall which lies opposite to himself; 
by each one, like the Baptist of old, fulfilling his 
course; by each one doing the duty which de- 
volves on him as a soldier fighting under Christ in 
the great army of the faithful, that the whole work 
is to be carried on and completed; this one tak- 
ing up this field, and another that field, at home 



234 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



or abroad, — going himself, or contributing to make 

others go. 

This view of religion in living operation is very 
different, I am aware, from the picture which is 
drawn of what it ought to be by the worldly, and 
by them held forth to our admiration. These men 
are loud in praise of religion, in the general or in 
the abstract, but it must be something that never 
comes out in living exhibition; something unseen, 
inoffensive, and inoperative; afraid to give any tes- 
timony in behalf of Christ, and so wounding no 
man's conscience; a concealed light, and therefore 
not a reproach upon their own darkness. These 
men dare not denounce religion in the general, but 
they would oppose it and hunt it down whenever 
it makes any appearance. They would pay it all 
respect in general language and compliments, but 
they condemn every actual exercise of it Nay, 
under a hypocritical profession of regard for that 
which they hate, they would tell you that religion 
is so ethereal in its nature that it is not fitted for 
society or the world; and, in the greatness of their 
regard for it, confine it to the closet and the heart. 
Such is the religion which the world would recom- 
mend to us as being most suited to its own tastes 
and least liable to disturb its self-complacency. 

But this, certainly, is not the religion recom- 
mended in the Word of God, and exemplified in 
the character of Moses and the prophets, of Christ 
and the apostles. Religion, it is true, begins at 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 235 

the heart; but in this respect it is like the blood, 
wherein is the life, which begins at the heart, but 
circulates to the farthest extremities. These men re- 
gard religion as the Jews looked upon the Saviour, — 
as a root out of dry ground; and it is, indeed, a 
root spreading out other roots, like Lebanon, but 
bringing forth branches which flourish and expand 
and bear precious fruit. These men would com- 
pare it to some feeble flame fed within a secret 
sanctuary, like the mysterious fire kept within the 
heathen temples; whereas God would have it rise 
in open day, like the flame of the morning and 
evening sacrifice, which rose towards heaven and 
before all men. These men would represent it as 
a hermit in a wilderness, — something secret and 
unseen; Christ describes it as a city placed on a 
hill, which cannot be hid. They would have re- 
ligion hide itself, as a candle put under a bushel, 
and burning there with a feeble and sickly flame; 
Christ would have it to be as a light placed on a 
table and shining on all around. Ye are the light 
of the world; not shining by inherent light, but 
still shining by light reflected from the Sun of 
Righteousness as sunshine is reflected from all the 
objects surrounding us in the heavens and earth. 

From this survey we see what is the grand func- 
tion of the organized church, — it is to proclaim 
the way, sustain the truth, and propagate the life. 
We see, too, what is the grand aim of church 
ordinances. We are to secure, in regard to them, 



236 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



that they be in thorough accordance with the Word 
of God, and that they be employed to edify the 
church, and not for the purpose of gratifying the 
senses or stimulating the imagination. 

We further see what is the style of preaching 
most fitted to advance the kingdom of God. It 
is preaching founded on Scripture, that speaks of 
Christ, and speaks to all, — to rich and poor, to 
Greek and barbarian, to old and young. There is 
a kind of preaching which sprang up in New Eng- 
land, an age or two ago, and which has since 
travelled South and West, but which does not seem 
to me the best for alluring the great body of the 
people. The minister is a well-educated, thinking 
man, and he reads and ponders the most of the 
week, and he brings out to his people his cogita- 
tions on the Lord's Day. All well; I say the good 
householder must bring out of his treasure things 
new and old : his people will not thank him for 
throwing them what has cost him nothing. But 
then he brings out his own thoughts, ingenious it 
may be, but wire-drawn and abstruse, instead of 
God's Word, to which they are pinned, and from 
which, certainly, they do not grow. They are ad- 
mired excessively by a select number of refined 
men and women, who are loud in praise of the 
preacher, and offer him a constant incense of adu- 
lation. But as to our children, who compose, or 
at least ought to compose, so large a proportion 
of every congregation, as to our servants, male 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW-MEN. 237 

and female, our mechanics and day-laborers who 
have toiled all the week, they would feel an in- 
terest in the grand old truths of God scripturally 
and feelingly illustrated; but as to the peculiar 
notions or nostrums of this man's brain, they can- 
not understand them, or at least do not appreci- 
ate them, and in most cases they do not, thereby, 
suffer much loss. If this style prevails among those 
churches that require a highly educated ministry, I 
fear the common people will turn to those churches 
where Scripture truth is preached more freely and 
heartily. There is an affected originality about this 
kind of preaching, which, however, consists more 
in a peculiarity of mode than in substance or real- 
ity. I admit that Christ is commonly there, but he 
is disguised by so many ingenious adjuncts that 
a large body of the people do not see him. I 
think I perceive indications that our merchants, dis- 
tracted all the week by anxious cares in their offices, 
and wishing to have a Sabbath of holy rest, are 
showing, by the kind of preachers that they are 
calling from this country and from abroad, that 
they have no predilection towards this artificial or 
notional style of preaching. Of this I am sure, 
that your truly learned men, when they come out 
from their books and their scientific pursuits, greatly 
prefer to listen to such words as Jesus uttered from 
the ship and on the mountain. Old Horace felt it 
to be a delight to sing pueris et virginibus ; and 
depend upon it, that is the best preaching, and the 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



most popular in the end, which addresses the father 
and the daughter, the mother and the son, the mis- 
tress and the maid, the unlearned as well as the 
learned. 

It is a great evil in our community, the separation 
of rich and poor, especially in our great cities. But 
it is vastly greater when it is permitted to enter the 
house of God, which is meant to counteract and 
soften the severances of the world. We have seen the 
beginning, but not the end of it. In so many of our 
city churches we see only the rich, and we wonder 
where the poor are. We are told, perhaps, that they 
are in churches for the poor. But would it not be 
better for the rich as well as for the poor that the 
two met together, thereby entering into the spirit of 
the passage, " My brethren, have not the faith of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of 
persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man 
with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come 
in also a poor man in vile raiment ; and ye have re- 
spect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say 
unto him, Sit thou in a good place ; and say to the 
poor, Stand thou here, or sit here under my foot- 
stool: are ye not partial in yourselves?" Are we 
not falling in with this spirit when we systematically 
arrange that the rich and the poor do not worship in 
the same house of God ? We all come into the world 
alike ; we all leave the world alike ; in heaven all are 
alike ; and there is one other place where I would 
have all alike, and that is in the house of God, — 



HOW TO VIEW OUR FELLOW- MEN. 239 

" the rich and the poor meet together, the Lord is 
the maker of them all." 

But it is said that there are difficulties in the way. 
I admit it. But let the church acknowledge the 
evils, and set itself earnestly to meet them. Many of 
them will be found to arise from the artificial means 
of paying ministers by pew-rents, and admitting 
property-holding, with buying and selling, into the 
temple of God. This whole subject of the means of 
so supporting the ministry as that the rich and poor 
may meet together is calling for and demanding the 
consideration of the wisest and best men in our 
church ; next always to the propagation of the gospel 
at home and abroad, it is about the most important 
which the churches can take up at this present time. 
We are insisting, very properly, on having an edu- 
cated ministry, and this is greatly for the good of our 
people. The training for the ministry is the longest 
and most expensive demanded in any profession; 
but when the young men have undergone it the pay 
allowed in our congregations generally is not equal 
to that of our skilled artisans. The command is, 
" Let him that is taught in the word communicate 
unto him that teacheth in all good things," and is as 
binding as any precept in the Word of God. True, 
those of us who are called of God must preach the 
gospel whether we are properly remunerated or not. 
" Woe be unto you if you preach not the gospel ! " I 
say to every young man in our college who seems to 
be called from on high to the work. But if ministers 



240 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



of the Word are required to make sacrifices, the 
members of the church, enjoying like privileges on 
earth, and seeking to reach the same in heaven, are 
required to do the same. This is a subject which 
the wisest and best men are now required to take up 
if they would enable the church to fulfil the grand 
end which it is fitted to accomplish. 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



The Lord is good unto them that wait for him. — Lam. iii. 25. 

IV TAN is required by his very nature as a creature, 
■ and from the dependent position in which he 
is placed, to take the attitude of waiting. For his 
encouragement he is assured that God " is good unto 
them that wait for him." Let us inquire what is 
involved in this duty, and consider how the Lord 
encourages them that perform it. If he who speaks, 
and they who hear, be this day waiting for him, they 
will assuredly find that " the Lord is good to them." 

I. 

LET US INQUIRE WHAT IS IMPLIED IN WAITING 
FOR GOD. 

I. God has work for tis, and we should be ready to 
do it. " Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that 
dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of ser- 
vants look unto the hand of their masters, and as 
the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress ; 
so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God." Such 
should be our habitual position, — that of servants 
waiting on the will and commands of their master ; 

16 



242 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



that of soldiers ready to obey the orders of their 
captain: not proffering excuses or seeking to de- 
volve the task on another, but with a willing mind 
saying, " Here am I, send me; " and this, whatever 
be the nature of the service, whether honorable or 
dishonorable in the world's estimation. 

2. There are blessings to bestow, and we should be 
waiting to receive them. Gifts have been promised, 
and we should believe the promise. God is offended 
with us when we doubt his word, his love, his will- 
ingness to bless us. Nothing grieves the kind Father 
so much as to find his children ever suspecting his 
goodness towards them after he has given such 
proofs of it, and preferring the society of strangers 
and the pleasures of the wicked. Rest assured that 
we cannot grieve the Holy Spirit more readily or 
deeply than by doubting whether our Heavenly 
Father loves us, when he has given such evidence 
of his compassion. We cannot please him more 
certainly than by going to him with such faith as 
we have, in the assurance that he will receive us 
and give us what we need. 

" If a flower 
Were thrown out of heaven at intervals, 
You 'd soon attain to a trick of looking up." 

But there are better things than flowers being thrown 
out of heaven, and let us be " looking up " for them. 
Let us not complain that the heavens are shut. The 
heavens were opened by him who came down from 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



243 



heaven; a door has been opened, and no man can 
shut it. Blessings are being rained down, but our 
hearts are not open to receive them. The fountain 
is flowing; let us go out and drink of it. The 
manna is falling around us; let us go out and gather 
it. The sun is shining; let us not in sulky pride 
retire into the dark and damp cave of unbelief; let 
us go out into its light and heat, as the grass and 
grain and flowers and trees rejoice in it at this sea- 
son, and as they do so spring and grow and take 
their hue of health and proper colors, and rise to 
their full height, and hasten to bear fruit. " Be it 
according to your faith." God blesses his people 
not according to their worth, but according to their 
wants ; and in proportion as you feel your parched- 
ness, and look that it may be allayed, so will be the 
shower that descends from these clouds which are 
big with mercies. 

3. /;/ waiting for God we should wait his time. 
For as to certain services which he requires and 
rewards which he bestows there is need that we 
exercise patience. There are some who allow in 
themselves a different temper. They are willing to 
work, so they think; but it is not in the way God 
prescribes, it is in their own way. They would work, 
they say, and would take the credit of it; and so 
God requires them in the mean time to wait, — to 
wait and see God himself working. They would be 
busy in his employment; but God would rather have 
them for the present suffer for his name. They 



244 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



would do good to others ; but God hinders them in 
his providence, that they may see that what they need 
is to get good to themselves; that, being reproved, 
and, as it were, converted a second time, like Peter 
(Luke xxii. 32), they may then " strengthen their 
brethren." Or they would be very much disposed to 
work in some public and conspicuous field ; and God 
allots them an obscure and unhonored sphere. Or 
they would be ready to labor in the shade ; but God 
calls them forth, to their annoyance, to toil in the 
heat and the glare of sunshine. Or they would be 
diligent in the quiet valley; and God compels them 
to go up to the mountain-top, where they are ex- 
posed to the storms of life, and to the gaze and 
reproach of men. Now in all this, be it observed, 
there is self-will when there should be submission to 
the Divine will. " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, 
do it with thy might," is the command and rule to 
the Christian. Again, there are those who insist that 
God should give them every blessing at the moment. 
And when the prayed-for and expected gift is with- 
held they begin to doubt and complain, possibly to 
abandon themselves to despair or scoffing, saying, 
with the unbelieving king of Israel, "What should I 
wait for the Lord any longer?" Surely we need 
only a moment's calm reflection to see how unrea- 
sonable as well as unbecoming this temper is. The 
wonder is that we should get blessings on any terms, 
and not that we should be obliged to wait for them. 
How long will men wait for earthly blessings, still 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



245 



expecting them to come! How long will the ambi- 
tious man run after earthly honors, which ever van- 
ish as he approaches them, — as the painted cloud 
before the boy who pursues it, in the idea that he 
would get riches could he only clutch it ! " Behold, 
the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the 
earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive 
the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient." He 
who is conscious that he deserves nothing, and that 
he needs much, will feel as if God were not ex- 
acting anything unreasonable in making him wait. 
He who knows how much is promised, and how 
certainly it will be granted in proper season, will be 
delighted to wait. 

4. Once more, waiting for God implies desire and 
expectation. We wait because we desire; we wait 
because we expect. We are anxious to glorify God 
by being employed in his service ; and hence we are 
waiting for orders, — we are seeking opportunities of 
serving him. We are longing for the blessings, as 
you see the husbandman looking over the whole sky 
for the coming shower to refresh his crops, or for the 
signs of dry weather to enable him to gather in his 
grain ; as you have seen the mother in her eagerness, 
or the father, saying less, but not less earnest, look- 
ing out for a son or daughter who has been for years 
in a foreign clime, but who has promised to be at 
home at such a time. How is every object in the 
dim distance examined ! how is every sound listened 
to ! and, "Why is he so long in coming? why tarry 



246 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



the wheels of his chariot?" Ah, if we were longing 
for spiritual blessings in this spirit they would come, 
assuredly come; and our faith would insure them, 
and our eagerness would hasten them : for " He that 
shall come will come, and will not tarry." 

Let us lay the blame on the proper parties, and 
not charge God with unfaithfulness. Let us rebuke 
our " evil heart of unbelief." " Ye ask, and receive 
not, because ye ask amiss." Ye ask slothfully, not 
caring whether ye receive or not; ye ask hypocriti- 
cally, not willing to receive. Suppose I had this day 
a commission from Heaven to proclaim that the mil- 
lennium is now come, — that I see in the clouds the 
brightness of His rising to establish on our earth the 
reign of peace and love and holiness, so long prom- 
ised. Think ye that this would be glad tidings of 
great joy to all men? "What," says the worldly 
man, " am I to let go my grasp of these earthly 
objects, and henceforth seek for my satisfaction 
in things that are spiritual and divine?" "What," 
says the man of pleasure, " am I to abandon these 
enjoyments, without which I would feel life to be a 
dulness and a burden, and now and forever set my 
heart on the beauty of Christ and the beauty of 
holiness?" "What," says the ambitious man, " am 
I to stop short in my ascent of the hill of honor, 
when I am about to reach its summit and enjoy the 
rest and the prospect for which I have been toiling 
all my life?" Ah, there are persons praying, "Thy 
kingdom come," who do not wish Christ's kingdom 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



247 



to come. I have no special authority from Heaven 
to fix the day and the hour of that glorious evening 
in the world's history when the light is to shine with 
a greater glow than ever it has done in the dark and 
troubled day. But I have a commission to proclaim : 
God's reign in your hearts is pressed upon you. 
" The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on 
this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend 
into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from 
above:) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that 
is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But 
what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy 
mouth, and in thy heart : that is, the word of faith, 
which we preach : that if thou shalt confess with thy 
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine 
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou 
shalt be saved." But you say you can do nothing 
without grace ; you are waiting for it. Ah, there is 
reason to fear that to all thy other sins thou art add- 
ing the sin of hypocrisy. Thou art not waiting for 
grace, but in thy secret heart for something very 
different. Determined to cherish thy self-righteous- 
ness, thou art waiting for self-indulgence, waiting for 
earthly goods and pleasures. God does offer thee 
grace, but thou wishest to remain graceless. Thou 
mightest be made humble, but thou art determined 
to continue proud. Thou mightest have thy self- 
righteous spirit subdued, and thou art resolved to 
lean on thine own deeds. Thou mightest have thy 
selfishness eradicated, but thou art resolute in pur- 



248 GOSPEL SERMONS. 

suing thine own immediate worldly interests. Thou 
mightest become holy, but thou art bent on abiding 
unholy. Friend, I would strip thee of these false 
pretexts by which thou art deceiving thyself, but by 
which thou canst not deceive God. Away with this 
delusion that thou hast been "waiting for God," when 
thou hast been waiting for self-seeking ends. Let 
there be a surrender at once of this thy self-will. 
Commit thyself at once and implicitly into God's 
hands. If thou " knewest the gift of God," and how 
good he is to them that " wait for him," thou would- 
est even now submit thyself to him, to do with thee 
as seemeth him good ; to bend thee as thou requirest 
to be bent, to change thee as thou requirest to be 
changed, and to fashion thee anew after his own 
pleasure. And say not that thou art waiting for the 
movement of the Spirit, as the impotent man waited 
at the pool for the troubling of the waters. For 
the spiritually impotent are cured, not by any wished- 
for movement of their spirits, but by Christ himself 
as he passes by; and he is now passing by, and is 
ready to heal. 

II. 

LET US CONSIDER HOW THE LORD ENCOURAGES 
THEM THAT WAIT FOR HIM. 

I . It is a good thing in itself thus to wait when God 
so requires it. But why is the blessing so long in com- 
ing? " Doth his promise fail for evermore?" These 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



249 



are questions which in our " infirmity " (Psalm lxxvii. 
10) we are ever tempted to put. As we put them, 
the answer may very possibly be, It is so long in com- 
ing just because you are so impatient about it. God 
cannot send it so long as you are in so unfit a state 
to receive it. Christ cannot do mighty works in you, 
or by you, " because of your unbelief." Not till 
these winds of temper and passion have subsided, 
will the softening showers descend. When you have 
learned to " rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for 
him," the blessing may come sooner than your 
hopes, and it may be larger than your expectations. 
Meanwhile, this impatience is frettrag and chafing, is 
irritating and distracting the soul; is rendering the 
time you have to wait long in itself, and much longer 
in your feeling of it; and possibly incapacitating you 
for taking the steps necessary to secure the desired 
end. How much more becoming and satisfying the 
opposite temper, — the spirit of meekness and of 
patience ; which shortens the time by the faith and 
confidence cherished ; which anticipates and hastens 
the blessing, and is thus gratified, first by the pros- 
pect, and then by the reality, — thus securing both 
the pleasures of hope and the pleasures of enjoy- 
ment; while it braces and invigorates the soul, and 
enables it to use the means to procure the expected 
benefit ! " Even the youths shall faint and be weary, 
and the young men shall utterly fall : but they that 
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they 
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall 



250 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not 
faint." 

2. It is good to wait, inasmuch as in waiting we 
receive many valuable lessons. A pupil or apprentice 
puts himself under a master, who promises to teach 
him a certain branch of knowledge. Now, it is pos- 
sible that, in fulfilment of his engagement, the mas- 
ter may just set the learner to work, and point out 
service after service for him. Would the scholar 
be thereby justified in charging his master with a 
breach of promise, and saying to him, " You promised 
to give me instruction and skill, and you set me 
instead to work ktid toil"? We see at once that if 
such a spirit were cherished by the pupil, it would 
indicate not only that he is ignorant of the branch of 
knowledge he wishes to learn, but that he is laboring 
under a more deplorable ignorance, — that he is igno- 
rant of his own ignorance ; for it is in the very act 
of waiting on that master, and doing the work which 
he prescribes, that he is to attain the skill he is 
seeking. It is the same in the school of Christ. It 
is in the very act of waiting on the Great Teacher 
that disciples attain those holy sentiments and habits 
which constitute the spiritual good they are in search 
of. It is in the very work that they are strengthened 
and acquire spiritual health, and a meetness for en. 
joying the wages, which thus come to be as pleasant 
as a reward after exertion, as rest is after labor. 

No doubt the children of Israel, as they sang 
praises to God by the shores of the Red Sea, when 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



251 



they saw their oppressors sink like lead in the 
waters, were expecting to be forthwith carried into 
the promised land in triumph. But they were not 
then fit for immediate entrance into their " rest ; " 
and so God kept them there for a time in the 
desert, and showed them wonders which they would 
never otherwise have witnessed, — the manna lying 
every morning on the bare face of the wilderness ; 
the water which the dry rock had yielded flowing 
on, unexhaled by the scorching beams of the sun, 
and undrunk by the thirsty sands; and the pillar 
of cloud shading them by day, and ever kindled 
into a pillar of fire by night. It was in beholding 
these miracles, and in the pure heaven-sent air of 
the desert, that they were purified from the igno- 
rance and defilement of Egypt: and by the very 
time they had to wait, they were the better fitted 
for the sphere they were to occupy. Again, when 
the disciples attached themselves to the cause of 
Christ, they had a vague idea that there was to 
be the sudden appearance of a kingdom of glory. 
" Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the 
kingdom to Israel?" was the question which, un- 
der various forms, they were ever putting. "The 
kingdom of God is within you," was the answer 
given. It was in the very work of waiting on 
Christ's person, and engaging in his service, that 
they were to be ripened for the higher work be- 
fore them, on earth and in heaven. What blessed 
privileges did they then enjoy, — privileges, it may 



252 



GOSPEL SERMONS, 



be, not sufficiently valued at the time, but on which 
they afterwards looked back with gratitude, saying, 
" Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked 
with us by the way?" Were they not blessed in 
hearing his discourses? Were they not honored in 
seeing the wonders w 7 hich he performed? Were they 
not trained to good, as they obeyed his command- 
ments? These gracious communings with them, 
these faithful reproofs, were the April sunshine and 
showers which watered the seed of the Word with- 
in them. Now, such, brethren, is the blessedness 
of all who wait upon the Lord. In conducting 
them into the promised inheritance, he takes them 
out into the wilderness, and speaks comfortably 
unto them, and shows them his love, and the mira- 
cles of his grace, in supporting the spiritual life 
within, while all around is so waste and desert. 
In this their training and discipleship they are made 
to wait upon him, and receive instruction from day 
to day, — " line upon line, precept upon precept." 

It thus appears that God is good to all who 
wait upon him, while they wait upon him. We 
serve a liberal master, w T ho not only gives us wages 
at the close of our work, but food and raiment 
and many comforts while w T e work. We are not 
required to spend our days as those of the hire- 
ling, who is ever inquiring, "When will my task 
be over, that I may receive my hire?" Like the 
ox treading out the corn in ancient Israel, which 
his master was not allowed to muzzle, w r e eat our- 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



253 



selves, while we labor in God's service, of the 
"corn" which maketh "men cheerful." They who 
are in Christ's vineyard do all sing while they work, 
and their shouting is like the shouting of the vin- 
tage. Being " filled with the Spirit," they " speak 
to themselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual 
songs, singing and making melody in their hearts 
to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things 
unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ." 

Perhaps there is none of us who has not felt at 
times the irksomeness of waiting. We would like 
to reap the harvest without the labor of the seed- 
time. But it is otherwise ruled in God's house, 
where it is ordained that " if any would not work, 
neither should he eat;" and it is for our good 
that it should be so; for the labor is as essential 
to our health as the food we earn by it. Man had 
to work even in his unfallen state; and since the 
fall he must eat bread in " the sweat of his face ; " 
and this appointment, which is a curse through the 
first man, is turned into a blessing by the Second. 
We would like to have the prize without the com- 
petition: and the prize of our "high calling" will 
not be withheld; but the training we have to un- 
dergo in order to attain it may be as valuable as 
the crown that is awarded. 

There are times when we wonder that God does 
not convert the world at once. We are disap- 
pointed when missionaries have to wait for years 



254 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



before they see conversions ; and because, after fifty 
years of missionary ploughing, we are made to 
feel that we have only touched here and there the 
surface of the wide field. And it is not for us to 
profess to be able to sound all the depths of the 
Divine counsels; but it is ours to gather the les- 
sons which are thus read to the church. Why is 
not the whole world already converted by the ex- 
ertions which the church has made? The answer 
to us is, that the church may have a field to labor 
in ; that it may do more than it has ever yet done ; 
that it may train the young and its members gen- 
erally to more thorough habits of giving and self- 
sacrifice ; that it may send out its noblest and 
bravest youths into the mission-field; and that it 
may be made to feel its need of the blessing, and 
be led to depend upon it. You wonder that so 
little has been accomplished when so much work 
has been done. But the proper wonder is, that so 
little work has been done; that for nearly a thou- 
sand years there was scarcely any missionary exer- 
tion in the church ; that even the Protestant Church 
for two centuries and a half did little or nothing 
for the heathen; and that it is only a little more 
than half a century since the church awoke to a 
sense of its duty, and that even now it has not 
realized anything like its full responsibility. The 
true wonder is, that God has encouraged us so 
much; that he has raised up so many faithful mis- 
sionaries ; that he has opened a way for us in 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



255 



countries which seemed to be closed ; that he has 
removed prejudices and shaken old superstitions; 
that around stations and circuits he has enabled 
us to gather tens of thousands of converts, not to 
speak of many who are now rejoicing before the 
throne on high. 

3. Once more, the blessing is larger because we 
Jiave waited for it. Why is it that man, when he 
has an arduous work to do, must do it when he 
can, and hasten to perform it? How is it that 
when he makes a promise he must be ready to 
execute it when he can, and not wait till, as he 
supposes, some more favorable opportunity may 
present itself? Plainly because his power is lim- 
ited, because his time on the earth is uncertain, 
and if he let one opportunity slip, another may 
never present itself. But no such weakness is laid 
on the High and Holy One who " inhabiteth eter- 
nity," and with whom " one day is as a thousand 
years, and a thousand years as one day." The 
time can never come when it is impossible for him 
to complete his designs. He needs no assistance 
from other beings for the accomplishment of his 
purposes, that he should act when others concur 
with him. Nothing can fall out unexpected by 
him to whom all things are known from the be- 
ginning, that he should change his plans and suit 
them to circumstances. No coming opposition can 
thwart or stay for one instant the progress of those 
plans which have been designed in eternity, that 



256 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



he should fulfil them before the time. He can 
allow opportunity after opportunity to pass away, 
till at last the " fit time," " the set time/' "the 
fulness of times," comes. 

Why is it that the sailor, when he sees the coming 
storm, must be all bustle and activity? Why, for in- 
stance, in that vessel which carried the Apostle of the 
Gentiles to Rome, had they to resort to so many ex- 
pedients, — to undergird the ship, and cast out the 
anchor, and strike the sail, and cast out the wheat, 
and lighten the ship ; and why at length had they to 
escape, " some on boards, and some on broken pieces 
of the ship"?. Why all this anxiety and dismay? 
Plainly because they felt themselves driven on Adria 
by elements over which they had no control; by 
winds which would not cease their ravings at their 
command ; by waves which rolled in spite of their 
entreaties : because they feared those yawning gulfs 
which were ready to swallow them up, and those 
rocks which would have stood unmoved while they 
dashed their frail bark into a thousand pieces. Con- 
trast this fear, this conscious weakness, with the calm 
and serene power of Jesus when on the Lake of Gali- 
lee, and you will at once see the superiority of Omni- 
potence. The tempest was loud, as in the other case, 
and the ship was covered with the waves, and the 
disciples were in great alarm : and Jesus was asleep ; 
but he arose as a master, and " rebuked the winds 
and the sea, and there was a great calm." Such is 
the might, such the wisdom, such the tranquillity of 



WAITING FOR GOD. 



257 



the operations of God. He can allow the floods to 
rise, and exert their force, and spend their strength ; 
but the instant he says, " Hitherto shalt thou come, 
but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be 
stayed," the waters must begin to recede. Amid all 
the storms which agitate our sky, he who flies " upon 
the wings of the wind," and rides " upon a cherub," 
is still at the head of all the powers of the universe, 
leading them to fulfil his wise purposes. And this 
is the reason why his plans move along in such mag- 
nificent order, with such dignity and majestic ease. 
In his works there is none of the imperfection which 
arises from haste, none of the confusion which arises 
from anxiety. All is order and beneficence amidst so 
much complexity and seeming irregularity. Every- 
thing is happening at its most appropriate time, amid 
so much apparent delay and procrastination. While 
nothing lingers beyond its time, nothing hastens to a 
premature conclusion. And this is the reason why 
his plans are marked by infinite wisdom; why 
they are at last so beneficial. While man must act 
when he can, the Almighty waits till it is most advan- 
tageous. God delays the blessing only that it may 
be larger when it comes. His counsels ripen slowly, 
that the ear may be fuller, that the fruit may be 
richer and mellower. How is it that the river, which 
rose in so small a fountain among the rugged hills, 
now sweeps along so magnificently among fertile 
plains? It is because in its lengthened and circuitous 
course it has gathered contributions on either side, 

17 



258 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



receiving a new stream from every valley which it 
passed. Thus it is that the stream of God's bounty 
is made to turn and wind, only that it may receive 
contributions from every quarter as it sweeps along, 
and flow at length more largely into the bosom. 
Hence it is that the royal munificence of his bounty 
knows no limits at last. Thus it is that he is good to 
them that wait for him. His blessings come not in 
scanty proportions, and according to the mere letter 
of the promise, but in flowing streams which far ex- 
ceed the most ardent expectations of his creatures. 
He does " exceeding abundantly above all that we 
ask or think." 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE 
PLANT. 



Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to- 
day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
more clothe you, O ye of little faith ? — Matt. vi. 30. 

'T^HE inspired writers are in the way of employing 



all the objects in Nature with which we are 
familiar, in order to illustrate spiritual truths. Solo- 
mon sends the slothful man to the ant : " Go to the 
ant, thou sluggard." Isaiah makes the ox and ass 
rebuke the ingratitude of the professing people of 
God: "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his 
master's crib, but Israel doth not know, my people 
doth not consider." A greater than Solomon and 
all the prophets sends those who distrust God's 
providence to the lilies of the field and the fowls 
of heaven : " Consider the lilies of the field ; they 
toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto 
you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not 
arrayed like one of these." 

All this exercised a most beneficent influence on 
pious men in ancient Israel. Living as they did, 
much in the open air, and in perpetual view of the 
wondrous works of God in earth and sky, Nature was 




260 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



seen by them to be full of God. The grass sprang, 
the flowers bloomed, the wheat and barley yielded 
their increase, and the vine and the fig and the olive- 
trees their rich fruit, all in obedience to God's com- 
mand ; and as they did so they showed forth the glory 
of God as well as furnished nourishment to his crea- 
tures. Would that the example set by Hebrew shep- 
herds and husbandmen as they tended their flocks or 
pruned their vineyards would induce those who live 
much among the works of Nature to take like ele- 
vated views. The works of Nature would afford a 
higher and nobler pleasure when thus connected 
with God and divine things than when associated 
merely with professional and earthly solicitudes. 
Would, too, that it might lead those who delight 
to study the operations of Nature, or who go forth 
from our cities at such seasons of the year as this 
to walk among the scenes of the country, to take a 
higher view than they do who look to mere mechani- 
cal laws, and make them regard all natural objects 
as really works of God, and capable of imparting 
spiritual instruction. There is not an object in the 
natural, the vegetable, or animal kingdom, which is 
not capable of being thus enlisted into the service of 
Christ. 

The plant in particular has been much employed 
by the inspired writers to convey spiritual lessons. 
The life of the plant seemed to them like the spirit- 
ual life in the soul ; the rain and dew that nourished 
it reminded them of the grace which comes down 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PLANT. 26 1 



from Heaven ; the flowers which adorned it taught 
them that the soul should be adorned with heavenly 
graces ; and the fruit which it yielded admonished 
them that they too must bring forth fruit unto God. 
The lesson of this day is drawn from the plant. 
Christ himself is the teacher, and the grasses and 
lilies are the lesson-book. The greatest of all teach- 
ers is employing his works as symbols, figures, or 
models to' instruct us in heavenly truth. Let us 
attend while he speaks. Four topics will open to us 
as we advance. 

I. 

WE ARE TO CONSIDER THE WORKS OF GOD, AND IN 
PARTICULAR THE PLANTS, THE LILIES, AND THE 
GRASS OF THE FIELD. 

" Consider," says he, " the lilies of the field." 
There are many who do not consider them. Some 
of these persons are fond of seeing or possessing 
fine specimens of human workmanship in dress or 
furniture or houses or paintings, but they " regard 
not the works of the Lord, nor the operations of his 
hands." "And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon 
in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." 
We are to mark them ; we are to mark how they 
grow. We need no scientific knowledge, no learned 
terms, to enable us to do this. All persons who have 
eyes to see may see it with or without book learning, 
whether they have or have not been at schools or col- 
leges. They may in particular observe two things. 



262 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



I. Every part of the plant is made to serve an 
end. " They toil not, neither do they spin ; " yet 
every organ of the plant has its use. Look at the 
swelling tree that overshadows us, or at this grace- 
ful lily at our feet. Consider it. It has roots which 
serve a purpose. These roots penetrate into the soil 
and draw nourishment from it. These spread out 
downwards as the trunk and branches mount up- 
wards, and enable the tree, the oak for example, to 
stand the storms of a hundred winters. The form of 
the bole of a tree, and the manner in which it fixes 
itself in the ground, is said to have yielded some 
suggestions to a celebrated engineer in the construc- 
tion of a famous light-house (Eddyston). You may 
remark how the tree springs up from the ground as 
a stem or trunk, on which hang all the branches and 
flowers and seed and fruit. This trunk, as it mounts 
upwards, spreads out all around into the air as 
branches and branchlets. These are covered with 
leaves rejoicing in the sunshine, and the moisture of 
dew and rain, and drawing in nourishment from the 
atmosphere. Upon these, at the proper season, you 
may look for and find flowers to delight the eye, and 
seed wherewith to propagate other plants after their 
kind, and fruit for the sustenance of God's creatures. 
It is obvious to every reflecting mind that in this 
Divine workmanship every part has its use and its 
end. The architect of a famous palace (Sydenham) 
confesses that he derived some of the ideas embodied 
in that structure from observing the wonderful pro- 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PLANT. 263 

vision made for bearing up the very broad leaf of 
one of the most beautiful of lilies. But there is 
another principle to be observed in the plant. 

2. There is visible in the plant an order, an orna- 
ment, a beauty. Special reference is made to this by 
him who made them (for by him were the worlds 
created), and who now uses them to teach us lessons. 
God is said not only to have made, but to have 
clothed the grass of the field. While every part of 
the plant has its use, it has also a clothing; it is 
clothed with beauty to minister to our delight and 
manifest the Divine glory. So far as we know, the 
plant could have fulfilled all its other and ordinary 
functions without having such an elegance of form 
or garniture of coloring. " I say unto you, that even 
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
these." It can be shown that every plant and every 
organ of the plant is, as it were, constructed upon 
a model or pattern in the Divine mind. Look at the 
full-formed tree growing apart from all other trees, 
and you see at once that it is made to grow up into 
a particular form, and this form is beautiful to look 
upon. It can be shown that every tree takes its 
own peculiar form, — a form after its kind ; and 
if not interfered with, that form is lovely. Look, 
too, at the flower of the lily, or any other plant, 
and in every part of it — its stalk, its petals, and 
inner organs, in their forms, and in the way in which 
they are placed — there are obvious order and orna- 
ment to call forth our admiration and our praise. 



264 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Then, what richness of coloring in the flower. First 
of all, every color is beautiful in itself; and then, 
colors which are accordant are placed alongside of 
one another in pleasing melody or exciting harmony. 
It needs science to explain all this, to show how it 
arises, and point out the causes of it; but it needs no 
science to enable us to observe it or enjoy it : the eye 
perceives it spontaneously, and drinks in the beauty, 
and it needs only piety to enable us to turn all this 
into an anthem of praise. This clothing of the plant 
meets us everywhere. Take the commonest plant, 
— the furze that grows on the common, the seaweed 
that cleaves to the rocks washed by the ocean, or the 
fern that springs up in the mountain glen, — and you 
may observe in its structure, in its leaves, and all its 
pendicles, a wonderful correspondence of side to side, 
and a counterbalancing of one part by another. Let 
the eye travel over Nature, as we walk among the 
cultivated fields, or on the grassy slopes and valleys 
of our upland districts, or among the thick woods 
where the winds have sown the seeds, and bush and 
tree of every kind spring up, each eager to maintain 
its place and show its separate form and beauty, and 
we discover an order and a grace in every branch 
and blade and leaf and color. Pluck the leaf and 
flower and consider it, and observe how one edge 
has the same number of notches in it as the other 
edge, and what nice balancings and counterpoises 
there are, and how nicely the lines and dots and 
shadings suit one another, and recur each at its proper 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PLANT. 265 

place, as if all had been done by the most exact 
measurement and under the most skilful and tasteful 
eye. Enter the rich arbor or the cultivated garden, 
and observe how the flowers have been enlarged or 
improved by the care which has been taken of them ; 
and in this gayer color and in that fuller expanse 
and more flowing drapery and richer fragrance mark 
how God, who rewards us for opening our eyes and 
looking abroad upon his works, holds out a still 
greater reward to those who in love to him, or in 
love to them, take pains with them and bestow 
labor upon them. 

Now, all this fitness and all this order and beauty 
testify of the wisdom and goodness of God. All 
these objects point upward to their God and to our 
God. Every flower that expands itself to the sun, 
every branch, every blade of grass, and every leaf 
that throws out its points to the air and sky, should 
raise these earthward looks of ours and carry up our 
thoughts to the place where God dwelleth, and where 
we hope to dwell forever. As our eyes were given 
us to behold these beauties, so our hearts were given 
us to cherish admiration, adoration, and gratitude, 
and our voices to praise him who made them all. 
But these works of God can also serve other religious 
ends. They may be used as lesson-books ; they are 
thus used by Christ to instruct us in great spiritual 
truths. Nature may thus be sanctified, and be made 
to teach us the very same lessons as the inspired 
Word. 



266 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



II. 

SECONDLY, WE ARE TO CONSIDER THE GROUNDS WHICH 
WE HAVE FOR TRUSTING IN GOD THAT HE WILL 
PROVIDE FOR OUR TEMPORAL WANTS. 

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the 
field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into 
the oven, much more shall he clothe you." 

This is a specimen of Bible reasoning. The Bible 
speaks as " unto wise men," and calls on us to 
" j u dge " what " it says." Its reasonings are all 
brief, all very conclusive, but at the same time easily 
followed. Here in this Word are no long and circui- 
tous trains of discussion, difficult to pursue, and in 
which sophistry may lurk. All here is simple and 
transparent. A child may understand it, a savage 
may grasp it. It sets forth a simple truth, and then 
draws immediately the proper conclusion. Take, as 
an example, " If God spared not his own Son, but 
gave him freely to the death for us," — here is the 
premise, and the inference follows, — " how will he 
not with him also freely give us all things? " Of the 
same character is the argument in the text. Preach- 
ing as he was, on the mountain, he points to the fowls 
of the air which may at the time have been flutter- 
ing around him, and to the lilies which may have 
been growing at his feet; and if, he says, God so 
cares for the fowls, will he not provide food and 
sustenance for the children of men ; if he so clothe 
the grass of the fields, will he not much more pro- 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PLANT. 267 

vide clothing for those who have immortal souls 
made at first in his own image? " If God/' he says, 
" so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and 
to-morrow is cast into the oven." 

There is an allusion here to the manner in which 
the Jews heated their ovens. These ovens were made 
by excavating a hole in the earth and paving the 
bottom with stones ; they were, as a traveller tells us, 
" heated by putting wood or dry grass into the oven, 
and when heated* the ashes were removed and the 
bread was placed on the heated stones." Such was 
the use to which the grass was often, and legitimately 
enough, put. The grass is seen growing to-day, 
clothed in beauty, and to-morrow it is burning in 
the oven ; yet God, knowing all the while the use to 
which the plant might be turned, did thus beautify 
and adorn it. It is a proof and illustration of the 
watchful care which God takes of all his works. The 
works which are the most perishing, those which we 
might regard as the meanest and most insignificant, 
those which we trample under our feet and destroy, — 
even these have had infinite pains bestowed on them. 
God does nothing in a careless or negligent manner ; 
everything which comes from God is worthy of him ; 
we see that it is God's workmanship. The argument 
is irresistible. The lesson comes home at once to us. 
Every bird we hear carolling its song, for the very 
pleasure of it, on the tree or in the air ; every flower 
that we see expanding its petals in the fields or gar- 
den, is rebuking our want of faith and confidence in 



263 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



God, and, as it were, saying, " If God take such care 
of me, will he not much more take care of you ? " 

"Ye are of more value than many sparrows," of 
more value than all the grass of the field. Ye have 
a body that is fearfully and wonderfully made, made 
with even a more amazing skill than the lilies of the 
field. The lilies are arrayed in greater splendor than 
Solomon ever was; and Solomon's body and every 
man's frame is more wondrously made than the love- 
liest plant that ever adorned meadow or mountain. 
Surely the God who made that goodly frame will 
also feed and clothe it. Then, that body is but a 
casket formed to contain an infinitely more precious 
jewel. That body is the tenement within which an 
immortal tenant dwells; and God will preserve that 
tabernacle, if for no other reason, yet for this, that 
within it the soul dwells. Then, that soul was formed 
at first in the image of God, in order to accomplish a 
high destiny, and when renewed by the Spirit of God 
it will fulfil that end. And ye, the disciples of Christ, 
ye have been redeemed at a great price; not with 
corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with 
the precious blood of Christ. There is a sense in 
which man cannot think too lowly of himself ; there 
is a sense in which he is lower than the sparrow, — 
lower than* the grass cast into the oven. That spar- 
row has not sinned against its Maker, that grass has 
not fallen short of the glory of God ; both have ful- 
filled the end of their existence. But it cannot be so 
said of you or of me. In this sense man cannot think 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE TLANT. 269 

too lowly of himself, or be too much impressed with 
his sinfulness and vileness. But in another sense he 
cannot think too highly of himself. " Ye are of more 
value than many sparrows," and ye cannot think too 
highly of the worth of that soul which was formed at 
first in the likeness of God, — of that soul for which 
Christ died. In this sense man is not at liberty to 
think meanly of himself, as if he were no better than 
a plant of a beast. He is of more value than all the 
beasts or plants of the earth, of more value than the 
sun and moon and all the stars of heaven ; for when all 
living beings have died and the heavenly bodies have 
been changed as a garment thrown aside when it has 
fulfilled its purpose, this soul shall be in its youth, 
its infancy still, with an eternity before it. This soul 
is reckoned of such value by the Son of God, that 
rather than it should perish he left the bosom and 
the glory of the Father in heaven and came to this 
earth to suffer ignominy, sorrow, and death. Rest 
assured, O ye of little faith, that if God so clothe the 
grass of the field, whose beauties last but for a day, 
much more will he make provision for you and for 
your wants. 

Not, my friends, that we are on this account to 
give up all work and exertion in the thought that 
God will provide for us. This would be to pervert 
and abuse the text. True, the fowls of the air sow 
not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; still, 
even they, according as God hath taught them by 
the instincts which he hath planted within them, are 



270 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



at pains to secure their food. " That which thou 
givest them they gather." True, the lilies of the field 
toil not, neither do they spin; and yet they draw 
nourishment from the air and from the earth. And 
just as the fowls of the air are up in the morning and 
are active, just as the plants of the ground are busy 
all the sunshiny day, drawing in sustenance, so ye, 
too, of more value than these, are to be active in the 
exercise of the faculties which God has given, and 
diligent in your callings. The Apostle is at great 
pains to show that Christians, because they are 
Christians, are not at liberty to neglect industry, or 
to suppose that God would feed them without the 
use of means (1 Thess. iv. 11), " and that ye study 
to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to 
work with your hands, as we commanded you." 
And again (2 Thess. iii. 10), "For even when we 
were with you, this we commanded you, that if any 
would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear 
that there are some which walk among you disor- 
derly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now 
them that are such we command and exhort by our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and 
eat their own bread." And what, then, it may be 
asked, are we warned against by our Lord in this 
passage? 

We are, my friends, warned against a spirit of 
unbelief; we are exhorted to cherish a spirit of con- 
fidence. Christ would deliver us from a spirit of 
anxiety. The fowls of the air gather their food, but 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PLANT. 2*]\ 

they have no feeling of anxiety while they do so. 
The lilies of the field draw nourishment from the 
soil and the air, but meanwhile they are not op- 
pressed with fears as to the future. Much more 
should you, were it not that your faith is so little, put 
confidence in God. 

But oh, how many are there who are bowed down 
all the day because of a burden of care lying on them ! 
" What shall I eat, what shall I drink, and wherewithal 
shall I be clothed?" These are the anxious ques- 
tions that are ever pressing upon them and craving 
for an answer. And because of them there are many 
who cannot enjoy the bounties which God has be- 
stowed, for they are always afraid thai they may be 
taken from them. It is sunshine at present, but may 
not the clouds return after the rain and descend in 
storm and tempest? And what is to be the issue of 
all this? Am I to have health or distress; prosper- 
ity or adversity ; a lengthened life or a speedy death ? 
Now, a believer in Christ has a means of allaying all 
these apprehensions. He can say, I leave all these 
things with my God. My concern is this : in what- 
ever state I am, therewith to be content; but what 
my state may be or should be, that is not my con- 
cern, but God's. My anxiety should be simply to be 
in the path of duty ; but as to what should befall me 
in that path, I leave this with my God. It is thus that 
the believer lays his burden on him who is able to 
bear it; he leaves the issue with him to whom the 
issues belong, and finds how comfortable it is to 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



obey the command : " Be careful for nothing ; but in 
everything by prayer and supplication with thanks- 
giving let your requests be made known unto God." 

III. 

THIRDLY, WE ARE TO CONSIDER THAT IF GOD SO 
CLOTHE THE GRASS OF THE FIELD, THAT IF HE 
SO CLOTHE THE BODIES OF HIS PEOPLE, MUCH 
MORE WILL HE CLOTHE THEIR SOULS. 

This is not the direct lesson taught in the text, but 
it arises very directly out of it. The argument is, if 
God so clothe the grass of the field, which is of com- 
paratively little value, much more will he provide 
clothing for his people, who are of more value. But 
the argument needs only to be carried out a step 
farther to take this form. If God does thus clothe 
the bodies of his people, much more will he clothe 
their souls with heavenly graces. 

And ah, these souls of ours need to be clothed! 
The plant once of a graceful form and clothed with 
the richest hues, but now bent, broken by the wind, 
bemired in the dust, — this is the emblem of the 
soul, once in the very image of God, and arrayed with 
a brighter glory than the lily, but now fallen from its 
first estate, broken and torn and polluted by sin ! The 
body, lately in the vigor and bloom of health, but now 
maimed, diseased, — that is the emblem of the soul 
once holy and righteous, but now lying under the 
judgments of Heaven and blotted with foul lusts. 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PLANT. 273 

Ah, how like is that soul to the grass which has been 
cut down and which is about to be cast into the oven ! 
That soul has been cut off from its God, the source 
of all spiritual life ; already has the life ceased to 
circulate in it, and it is ready to be cast into the fire 
that is not quenched. Can it indeed be that this soul 
is to grow and to flourish once more upon its stalk ? 
Can it be that this soul, already in the grasp of death, 
is to walk' forth in newness of life? "Son of man,. can 
these bones live? O Lord, thou knowest." Ah, yes, 
God knew it from the beginning; and, blessed be 
God, he has revealed it to us. " O Israel, thou hast 
destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help." So great 
value did he set on these souls, that he sent his Son 
from heaven to save them from everlasting death. 

Christ's work when on earth was a work of salva- 
tion. They brought to him the sick, the maimed, 
and the blind, and he healed them all. If you had 
accompanied Christ on some of his pilgrimages when 
on earth, what a glorious sight would you have seen, 
— not, indeed, such a sight as this world admires 
when it applauds the warrior with strong and healthy 
men before him whom it is his pride and glory to cut 
down and destroy. You would, if you had followed 
Christ, have seen a far different but a far more glori- 
ous sight. You would have seen before him, on the 
way by which he was to pass, the road covered with 
couches with the sick laid out upon them ; and you 
would have seen the dumb, when they could not 
speak, striving to give expression to their woes by 

18 



274 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



their earnest struggles; and you would have heard 
the blind, when they could not see him, crying to be 
taken to him. This was the scene before him ; and 
behind him, after he had passed, were the sick bearing 
their couches, and the lame leaping like the harts, and 
the dumb singing his praises, and the blind gazing 
earnestly upon him with joyful eyes, and the lunatics 
in their right minds, and those lately dead in the em- 
braces of their friends. Yes, these were the fruits that 
followed Christ's visits wherever he went. And he is 
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. 
His office, his prerogative, is still to seek and to save 
that which is lost. He is in this world now by his 
spirit, as he once was by his bodily presence. He is 
not to be discerned by any pomp or external splen- 
dor. The kingdom of God cometh not by observa- 
tion ; but still ye may discern him by the eye of faith. 
Before him are persons afflicted with all manner of 
soul maladies, some under the power of wild passion 
by which they are led captive at pleasure, some cov- 
ered all over with the leprosy of vice, all of them blind 
to the perception of spiritual beauty and deaf to the 
voice of God addressed to them. Wherever Christ 
goes, the way is strewn with such ; and wherever he 
goes, he leaves behind him traces of his presence. 
Before him, as he marches through our world, are 
the blind, the deaf, the dying, and the dead ; and be- 
hind him are the seeing, the hearing, the living, the 
lovely, and the loving. "The Spirit of the Lord God 
is upon me ; because the Lord hath anointed me to 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PLANT. 275 

preach good tidings unto the meek : he hath sent me 
to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to 
the captive, and the opening of the prison to them 
that are bound ; to proclaim the acceptable year of 
the Lord." 

Not only is the soul once dead made alive in this 
work, — it is beautified and adorned. " I will be as 
the dew unto Israel : he shall grow as the lily, and 
cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall 
spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and 
his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his 
shadow shall return; they shall revive as the com, 
and grow as the vine : the scent thereof shall be as 
the wine of Lebanon." Shall not he who so clothes 
the grass of the field also clothe you, O ye of little 
faith? And the garment with which the Father 
clothes his beloved child, to the envy and spite of his 
brethren, is a party-colored one. Yes, if you have faith 
but as a grain of mustard-seed, you will, by the vital 
power which is imparted, be clothed with graces of 
many a hue, each lovely in itself, and lovely in the 
place which it has to occupy: there will be the 
brighter colors, the blue, the pink, and the orange 
of faith and confidence and hope, mingling with the 
darker but not less lovely colors, — with the red, the 
purple, and the olive of penitence, humility, and 
patience; and the whole lightened and brightened 
by what is, after all, the pure beam of Heaven, by 
the pure white light of love, coming direct and un- 
broken from him who is light and love. 



276 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Yes, brethren, our souls need to be beautified. 
They need not only to be renewed, they need to be 
adorned. There are some Christian men and women 
who are under the influence of true faith and steady 
principle, but they are not amiable. They are cross 
or peevish or violent or stubborn. Such persons 
need to be clothed, that they become not only good 
but lovely, — as the lily is lovely. Brethren, watch 
and pray, live and labor, that ye may be thus lovely. 
" Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning 
of plaiting of the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of 
putting on apparel ; but let it be the hidden man of 
the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the 
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the 
sight of God of great price." 

My friends, this world of ours is but a nursery, a 
place of nurture, where we are to be reared and 
then transplanted, — transplanted into the paradise 
above. These flowers around us have their beauty 
but for a day ; but it is different with the souls which 
are being adorned by the spirit of God. They are to 
bloom forever in a better land, where are no winds 
to blight, no storms to destroy. Brethren, we have 
seen that all plants of the earth are formed after a 
model. It is the same with the spiritual plants of 
our Heavenly Father's planting. They are all formed 
after the model of him who is expressively called the 
" plant of renown." Each branch, each leaf of this 
Tree of Life is an image of the entire tree. It is thus 
that we are to grow in likeness to him, till we can say 



THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PLANT. 277 

and sing: " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul 
shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath clothed me 
with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me 
with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom deck- 
eth himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth 
herself with her jewels. As the earth bringeth forth 
her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that 
are sown in it to spring forth ; so the Lord will 
cause righteousness and praise to spring forth." 



GROWTH IN GRACE ILLUSTRATED IN 
THE LIFE OF NICODEMUS. 



" There came also Nicodemus which at the first came to Jesus 
by night " (John xix. 39), as compared with, " There was a 
man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 
the same came to Jesus by night " (John iii. 1,2). Nicodemus 
saith unto them (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of 
them,) Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and 
know what he doeth ? — John vii. 50, 51. 

AMONG other and higher excellences by which 
the four Evangelists are characterized, every 
thinking mind is much interested to notice the variety 
of character, good and evil, brought before us. In 
the centre or foreground of the painting (if painting 
it can be called which is the simplest of all simple 
narratives) stands Jesus, the brightness of the Father's 
glory and the express image of his person, only 
seen in shadow, — working miracles, relieving distress, 
and teaching his disciples, under the pressure all the 
while of the mighty load of a world's sin. Around 
we see the apostles distinguished by almost every 
possible diversity of character, some timid, others 
confident, each with a heart ungodly by nature, but 
all with one sad exception coming under Divine 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



279 



Power, which is struggling with remaining corruption 
within them. Farther on we get a glimpse of 
other disciples shrinking from the view; for though 
convinced that Jesus has come from God, they have 
not the courage to avow themselves to be his follow- 
ers. Here and there among the groups that hover 
around we notice enemies irritated by the faithfulness 
of the Holy One in the midst of them, and anxiously 
plotting to be rid of him. At this place we observe 
a company of scoffing Sadducees, at this other a band 
of scowling Pharisees. Scattered among these we 
meet with persons who had been relieved by the love 
of him who went about continually doing good; who 
had had their burdens removed or their diseases 
healed. This man, fixing his eyes so eagerly on Jesus, 
was lately blind ; this other, listening so intently, was 
lately deaf ; this third, walking and leaping with such 
alacrity, was not long before hopelessly lame ; while 
this fourth was only a few days ago prostrated on a bed 
of sickness, or shut up in the gloom of the sepulchre. 
In the background we have the mass of the people 
vacillating between two opinions, — now strewing his 
path with branches of trees and shouting " Hosanna ! " 
and again with loud voice demanding his crucifixion. 

Where else will you meet with such a variety of 
character, reaching from spotless excellence on the 
one hand to bloated lust and demoniacal fury on the 
other? Heaven and earth and hell, god and man and 
devils, the flesh and the spirit, human nature and 
divine grace, meet and wrestle till we discover the 



28o GOSPEL SERMONS. 

several properties of each. By this mingling of light 
and shadow we are interested and allured to pursue 
the path before us, and in doing so we gather deep 
instruction. 

I mean at this time to single out for more special 
contemplation a single person from the multitudes 
that pass before us. That individual is Nicodemus. 
He is presented to us in three different positions. 
In the passage immediately before us he is engaged 
with Joseph of Arimathea in committing the body 
of Jesus to the place of sepulture. But the Evan- 
gelist in mentioning this circumstance, so much to 
his credit, refers to another passage in his life not so 
commendable : " There came also Nicodemus, which 
at the first came to Jesus by night." On turning 
back to chapter vii. we read of Nicodemus giving a 
noble testimony in difficult circumstances in behalf 
of justice and of Jesus; but in that passage the same 
humbling clause is added, — " he that came to Jesus 
by night." 

I. 

"Nicodemus, who at the first came to Jesus by 
night." This carries us back three years in the 
history. At that time Jesus was just beginning his 
public ministry. He had come to Jerusalem for the 
first time since he began to preach and work miracles. 
His life had hitherto been obscure in Galilee; but 
now in the capital of the country he wrought wonders 
which proved that he was a teacher come from God. 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



28l 



From his first appearance the prejudices of the priests 
and rulers were armed against him. Finding the 
temple, which was his Father's house, profaned by- 
unseemly merchandise, he proceeded to cleanse it by 
casting down the tables and removing the money- 
changers, as a type of the work which he came to 
perform in purifying the world, which ought to be 
his temple. From this time forward the jealous eyes 
of the hierarchy were fixed upon him, narrowly 
watching his conduct. A wound had been inflicted 
which continued to rankle in their breasts. Nor did 
their enmity cease till three years after it succeeded 
in bringing him to the cross and to the grave. 

You can easily conceive how in these circum- 
stances it must have required much courage on the 
part of one possessed of rank and authority to avow 
himself a follower of the new teacher. " Not many 
mighty, not many noble are called ; " yet God in every 
age has had witnesses for the truth from among the 
higher as well as the lower grades of life. It was at 
this very time that Nicodemus came to Jesus. Nico- 
demus was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrim, the 
supreme council of the nation, — in short, was one 
of the judges and senators of the land. He belonged 
to the sect of the Pharisees, the most popular and 
influential of all the parties into which the Jews 
were at that time divided, and the one which felt 
its self-righteous spirit most deeply wounded and its 
power shaken by the life and teachings of Jesus. We 
can thus understand how great must have been the 



282 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



struggle before he could come to receive instruction 
from the new teacher from Nazareth, the lowly Jesus, 
the son of Mary and Joseph the carpenter. 

On the one hand, prejudice must have led him to 
doubt whether one of so lowly an appearance could 
be the Messiah mentioned in such glowing language 
by the prophets, and expected by the people to be a 
temporal prince who was to sit on the throne of David, 
and establish a more extensive dominion than the 
Jewish one had been in the time of its greatest pros- 
perity. On the other hand, reason must have told 
him that no man could do these miracles which Jesus 
did except God were with him. Pride must have 
suggested that by avowing himself a follower of 
Jesus he would be lowered in the esteem of the circle 
in which he moved. He felt as if he needed a teacher, 
and yet he was ashamed of one who came in so lowly 
a form. For a time there may have been a strug- 
gle in his breast like that between chaos and order at 
creation, when the Spirit moved on the face of the 
waters, like that which we have seen between light 
and thick masses of cloud at the dawn of the day, 
and no one but he who searcheth all things can tell 
which is to gain the mastery. 

When at length the good overcame the evil, no 
doubt through the guiding of the Spirit of Jesus, it 
was accompanied by an unworthy compromise of 
principle. He resolved to go to Jesus, but he had 
not the courage to do so openly in the light of 
day. He was afraid that if he were but seen in 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



283 



the company of the new teacher he would lose the 
favorable opinion of those of his own station; and 
every one acquainted with human nature knows that 
most men would rather lose the favor of those be- 
neath them in rank, or even of those above them, 
than of persons of their own circle, with whom 
they are in the habit of daily associating. We 
ought all to be ashamed of our foolish deeds; but 
here is one shrinking from the performance of the 
wisest resolution he ever formed. If he had been 
about to visit an earthly prince he would have 
chosen the light of day; but so much are men 
dazzled by the splendor of worldly station, and so 
little do they esteem spiritual excellence, that he 
could not come to him who was born King of the 
Jews except under the clouds of concealment. If 
heralds had announced that Tiberius, the Roman 
Emperor, had arrived at Jerusalem, we can conceive 
that Nicodemus would have selected the most pub- 
lic hour of the day, and the most public street, to 
wait upon him in the midst of bustling crowds; 
but now when He who was the Prince of peace, fore- 
told by prophets for thousands of years, his birth 
celebrated by angels, and his power attested by 
miracles, and he himself the King of kings and 
Lord of lords, came to Jerusalem, the Jewish ruler 
could not visit him except in a way which showed 
that he was ashamed to be seen in his presence. 

But it is well when we come to Jesus at all. 
We will be received if we have faith but as a grain 



284 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



of mustard-seed. Virtue will come out of him to 
make us whole if we but touch the hem of his 
garment. If Nicodemus had come to an earthly 
prince at this unseasonable hour he would have 
been scornfully rejected ; but he came to the Prince 
of peace, and he received a welcome. This teacher 
come from God did not discourage him by a sin- 
gle word of reproach or look of disapprobation. 
The greatest of all teachers proceeded to instruct 
him in the grand doctrine of the necessity of being 
born again by the Spirit of God. While the great 
prophet of the church taught him by his word, he 
also taught him by his Spirit. He came with a 
veil over his heart so that he could not discern as 
he read them the meaning of Moses and the proph- 
ets; he went away with the veil removed, and his 
mind enlightened to discern the truth. He came 
with his soul dark as the night which enveloped 
him, but he came to the Sun of Righteousness, to 
him who is the light of the world; and he went 
away under the light of the morning which shineth 
more and more unto the perfect day. 

Now, the spirit which Nicodemus showed we find 
appearing in all ages, including this present time. 
We still see the young, the vain, the timid, coming 
or professing to come in much the same way, — in 
secret; afraid of the censure or ridicule of their 
associates, and apparently more ashamed of their 
attachment to the cross of Christ than of their fol- 
lies or of their sins. They are convinced of the 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



285 



claims of religion, and of the need of salvation. 
Conscious of their sin, they are afraid of the indig- 
nation of God, and would wish to avoid it. Under 
some of the disappointments of life, the loss of 
health, or wealth, or friends, they are made to feel 
that " this is not their rest, for that it is polluted," 
and they look round for an enduring good. But 
still they would not choose to be regarded by this 
world, or by their companions, as being deeply con- 
cerned about the salvation of their souls. They 
would be more ashamed of prayer, if found in the 
act, than if caught in some sin. They would shrink 
from being thought converted or seeking conver- 
sion. Among their associates they are anxious to 
appear as free, as unfettered, as gay and indiffer- 
ent as others around them, and would scarcely dare 
to utter a serious sentiment for fear of the ridicule 
that might follow. 

I am afraid as to the great body of such per- 
sons that they have never come to Christ, and that 
when they would come, the fear of man beats them 
back, as we have heard of the shipwrecked sailor 
being sucked back by the recoiling wave after he 
had reached the shore and thought he was safe. 
They have often resolved to come to Christ, but 
have never, like Nicodemus, actually come to him. 
As to others, however, whose conduct is thus wa- 
vering, we may believe that their faith, though 
weak, is genuine and sincere. Like Nicodemus, 
they have come to Christ; but like him under the 



286 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



clouds of night. Unseen by the world they have 
had a meeting with Christ. When no human eye 
noticed them they have had a whole night's wrestling 
with him, as Jacob had with the angel of the cov- 
enant, and they wrestled till the breaking of the 
day, till the day-star arose in their hearts. The 
world did not know it; but the tears of conviction 
and of penitence rolled from their eyes, and they 
came timidly in the darkness to express their faith 
in Christ. They felt themselves drawn against their 
very nature towards God as by the cords of love 
and the bands of a man. Their desires were so 
weak, and their motives so imperfect, that Christ 
might have refused them ; but he encouraged them, 
and instead of crushing he proceeded to bind up 
the broken reed. In very truth Christ appeared to 
them in the visions of that night as he did to 
Jacob at Bethel. While they drew nigh to him he 
drew nigh to them. A ladder was set up on earth 
which reached to heaven, and down it the grace 
of God descended into their hearts, and up it their 
faith and affections did climb to heaven above. 
Surely the Lord was in that place, though they did 
not expect it. Though he might have rejected 
them, Jesus did truly receive them, and instructed 
them experimentally in the doctrine of regenera- 
tion; and the Spirit who bloweth where he listeth 
breathed into them the breath of spiritual life, and 
they were born again while they were wondering 
at this mysterious communication. I invite such, 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



287 



and I invite all, to follow Nicodemus into the second 
scene in which he is presented to us. 

II. 

Upwards of two years have elapsed without our 
hearing of the Jewish ruler. We do not read how 
he passed this time, or whether he had any fur- 
ther communication with the great teacher who 
had instructed him in the doctrine of regeneration. 
After the feast he may have returned to his own 
home. Shortly after this interview we know that 
Jesus retired to Galilee, his usual place of abode, 
or rather of his wanderings, and so their further 
meetings could not have been frequent. But when 
Jesus came up as he did to the great religious festi- 
vals, we can conceive that Nicodemus would wait on 
his ministry and seek opportunities of meeting with 
him. This is certain, that he would often meet with 
God in spiritual communion; and the teacher who 
had come from God, and taught him the spiritual 
nature of Christ's kingdom, would help him in his 
aspirations. We can picture him in his own home 
searching the Scriptures to see if this was not the 
very Christ foretold by the prophets. The Spirit 
which at the first converted is now sanctifying him. 
As he was born of the spirit, so is he now living 
in the spirit and walking in the spirit. 

We find him next presented to us in his place in 
the Jewish Sanhedrim. Jesus had come to Jerusalem 



288 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



at the feast of tabernacles, and his presence had been 
hailed by the multitudes who crowded around him 
eagerly listening to the words of grace and salvation 
which flowed from his lips. A number of the peo- 
ple believed on him and avowed their convictions. 
Their feelings were too loudly expressed not to reach 
the ears of the Pharisees and priests who felt as if 
their dominion were tottering beneath them. Stung 
by malice and jealousy, they called a meeting of the 
great council of the nation to determine what should 
be done in the extraordinary circumstances in which 
they were placed. It was resolved to send out officers 
to apprehend Jesus and bring him before their tribu- 
nal. When the officers drew near, they found him in 
the midst of the people inviting them in the most en- 
couraging manner to partake of the mercy brought 
nigh to them : " If any man thirst, let him come unto 
me and drink." Before seizing their intended prisoner 
the officers were induced to listen, and as they did so 
they found themselves interested in the discourse; 
their attention became more and more riveted ; they 
caught the feeling of adoration which heaved in every 
breast ; they hesitated and delayed carrying their de- 
sign into execution, and when Jesus finished his dis- 
course they were so awed that they became completely 
powerless ; they allowed him to pass away undisturbed, 
and at the risk of being severely punished they came 
back to those who. had sent them out, with this signal 
testimony, " Never man spake like this man." The 
council had sat in stern and sullen impatience waiting 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



289 



the return of their servants ; and on hearing this unex- 
pected answer their passion could be restrained within 
no bounds. Here were their own dependents failing 
them at this critical moment " Are ye also deceived ? 
Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed 
on him? But this people who know not the law are 
cursed." It is as if they said, " This is a popular 
delusion ; only the lowest and most ignorant of the 
people have been deceived by him : none of the 
learned have thought for one instant of espousing 
his cause. Can you point to a single man of in- 
fluence who regards him with a friendly eye? No; 
it is impossible, and cursed must that people be 
who are thus liable to be deluded." 

It is a trying time to Nicodemus as he sits there in 
the council, — a time fitted to search him, and to show 
to himself and others the innermost springs and mo- 
tives of his nature. He sees the temper of his brother 
councillors exasperated to the utmost. Not a voice 
in the assembly is lifted in behalf of justice. Does 
he seek now to conceal his faith in Jesus, as he had 
done on a former occasion? No; though he should 
stand alone, like a breakwater in the midst of the 
waves, he feels himself called on to speak out even if 
he should thus be bringing down upon him the ire of 
all his associates. He sees that the council is about 
to proceed to violent measures ; and in language which 
shows how calm he is in the midst of the storm he 
puts the simple question, " Doth our law judge any 
man before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" 

10 



290 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



The angry feeling which had been burning against 
Jesus and the officers is now directed full against 
Nicodemus. Suspicion is awakened in every breast, 
and they charge him with being a follower of the 
Galilean teacher. 

But there is a dignity and a majesty in justice 
which awes when it fails to convince. The Sanhedrim 
were overpowered by the question put to them, and 
they separated each to his own house in all the sulki- 
ness of disappointed revenge, breathing out impre- 
cations against Jesus and the friend whom they now 
discovered that they had in their own body. 

In the conduct of Nicodemus on this occasion we 
discover courage and faithfulness of a high order. It 
was a testing time, and Nicodemus stood it. He said 
enough, and he said no more. He could not have 
said less in justice, and perhaps he was not required 
to say more in prudence. It is evident that during 
these two years which have elapsed since first we met 
with him he has made decided progress in the Chris- 
tian life. He who at the first could come to Jesus 
only by night, now stands by him in open day and 
in the face of the most formidable opposition, before 
which the courage of the strongest might have quailed. 
" Add to your faith virtue," the old Roman courage, 
a noble quality when used in defence of a good cause. 
Christ has a kingdom and a cause in this world 
which he requires his followers to defend. We live 
in a world in which there is evil opposing the good. 
We condemn the wickedness of the Jews, as well 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



291 



we may, at the time when Christ came to his own and 
his own received him not. But I believe that human 
nature is much the same in all ages ; and that if Jesus 
had fixed on our age and nation as that in which 
to come to our earth, wicked hands would have 
persecuted and slain him just as the Jews did. We 
need still to defend his cause against the open and 
insidious attacks of his enemies. How pleasant to 
observe Christians growing, as Nicodemus, in zeal and 
devotedness to their Master ! They may have been 
frightened by the danger when they saw it at a dis- 
tance ; but when they are face to face with it their cour- 
age rises with the occasion. How pleasant to find a 
youth at first timid, now facing the foe ; at first like 
the sapling bending before every breath of wind, but 
now like the full-grown oak firm and upright amid 
the fiercest storms ! When the youthful David left 
his sheep-cots to visit the army, it was to carry a mes- 
sage of peace to his brothers, and not to fight. But 
when he heard Goliath defying the army of the living 
God, his whole soul was stirred within him, and taking 
courage when he remembered how he had slain the 
lion and the bear which had attacked his flocks, he 
went forth in the name of the Lord of hosts, and with 
his sling and his stone laid the giant prostrate. So 
you may see that youth, at first timid, now ready to 
stand by the right and resist the evils that meet him. 
A short time ago he concealed his religion ; now he is 
ready to declare with Paul, " God forbid that I should 
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." 



292 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Before, he followed the practices which prevailed 
around him and the customs of his companions, with- 
out inquiring whether they are in conformity with 
God's law or not ; now, he is firm in resisting the evil, 
and very jealous for the Lord God of hosts. Only a 
few years ago he may have shrunk from every pro- 
posal fitted to further the cause of Christ, provided it 
was likely to expose him to odium or reproach. You 
laid before him a way of doing good, but he saw a 
thousand difficulties in the way of its execution ; it 
might lose him the good opinion of an influential 
friend or bring him into trouble. But now he is 
ready to listen to, and eager to pursue, every project 
fitted to restrain evil and to promote the cause of re- 
ligion and morality. Wherever there is a true work 
I believe it will be thus progressive. " God will carry 
on the good work which he has begun, until the day 
of Jesus Christ." 

We shall discover a further and more striking proof 
of this as we look to the third incident in the life of 
Nicodemus. 

III. 

Again the curtain drops, and months elapse before 
we hear any more of the Jewish councillor. During 
this time he may have suffered not a little persecu- 
tion, owing to the suspicions raised against him for 
the part he had taken. But his faith was now 
strong ; it could bear the trial, and was strengthened 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



293 



by it. The wind that might blow out the feeble 
spark may only fan the stronger into a flame. In the 
providence of God he was now separated more from 
the world, and made to depend less on man and more 
on God. In this way he was prepared for a yet greater 
trial before him. 

Everything indicated that the earthly course of 
the new teacher who had appeared was drawing to 
a close. He had fulfilled the time appointed in 
the counsels of Heaven, and his work was about to 
be completed. The stratagems of the rulers were 
laid more skilfully, and the people who had stood 
by him, now abandoned him when they found that 
he condemned their worldly expectations as well 
as the pride of their rulers, and that the kingdom 
he was to establish and the blessings he was about 
to bestow were spiritual. When he told them 
plainly that unless they ate the flesh and drank 
the blood of the Son of man they had no life in 
them, from that time many went back, and walked 
no more with him. There is a strange combina- 
tion of powers against him. An apostle is bribed 
to betray him. The grand council of the nation, 
headed by the high priest, condemns him. Pontius 
Pilate, the Roman governor, when appealed to, re- 
fers the case to the people, who demand his cruci- 
fixion. Every voice is raised against him, and they 
continue to rail against him in his dying agonies, 
when the vilest malefactors have had sympathy ex- 
pressed in their behalf. 



294 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



The circumstances are still more trying than 
those in which he had formerly been placed in 
the Sanhedrim. At that time, if he was opposed 
by the rulers, he had the great body of the peo- 
ple to support him; now he stood almost alone. 
The very disciples had fled in his hour of trial, 
and only one had the courage to come to the 
foot of the cross. A few pious women scarcely 
observed by the multitude remain to do the gentle 
offices to the dead. 

How is Nicodemus to act now? Does he, as at the 
first, conceal his faith; or does he content him- 
self, as in the second instance, in uttering a protest 
in behalf of innocence and against injustice? No; 
he is now ready to brave every peril. A friend, 
Joseph of Arimathea, begs the lifeless body of Jesus, 
and Nicodemus joins him in preparing it for the 
sepulture. Far above the fear, far above the ap- 
plause of men, these two join in their becoming 
offices. It would be difficult to find in history a 
courage superior to that of Nicodemus. There 
may be a nobler valor than even that of the sol- 
dier in the battle or that of the sailor in the storm. 
When Luther defended himself before the great 
emperor of his age and a council, of princes and 
prelates, an old general grasped him by the hand 
and said, " I have fought in the hottest battles of my 
time, but I have never after all shown a bravery 
like yours." The valor of Nicodemus was of a 
higher order than that which faces and fights with 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 



295 



the danger: it was so ardent that it did not see 
the danger; he was, in fact, utterly unconscious of 
it. You need not tell that mother that she is ex- 
posed to infection as she sits for days and nights 
beside the sick-bed of her son who is in raging 
fever; she will not heed what you say to her. So 
the Jewish ruler, as he pursued his work of love 
and duty, did not feel, he did not for one mo- 
ment think of, the opprobrium he might meet with ; 
his was " the perfect love that casteth out fear." 

Observe the growth in the character of this man. 
At first believing but fearful, he became faithful, 
and now his heart is filled with love and animated 
by courage. He has reached the highest excel- 
lence of Christian character, to that charity which 
is the fulfilling of the law and the bond of per- 
fectness, which is greater than faith and hope, and 
shall be laid up as the fruit in the garner of God 
when all else, like the leaves which nourished it, has 
disappeared. 

So, Christian brethren, be not contented with past 
attainments. " Besides this, giving all diligence, add 
to your faith, virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; and 
to knowledge, temperance ; and to temperance, pa- 
tience ; and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness, 
brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness, char- 
ity." The true Christian does not allow himself to 
think that he has attained, or that he is already 
perfect; but, forgetting the things that are be- 
hind, he presseth forward to those that are before. 



296 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



Mounting towards heaven, he is drawn the faster the 
nearer he approaches it. He may not be perfect, 
but he is seeking to be perfect. A good soldier of 
Christ, he will not cease from the contest till he 
has conquered all those sins which are Christ's 
enemies and his own enemies. But do I hear 
some one becoming weary in well-doing, and ask- 
ing, How long am I to continue in the contest? I 
answer, Till you have slain the last of our spiritual 
enemies. But if it is objected that this must be 
till death, then I say even till death you must con- 
tinue faithful. The Christian dies in armor, as we 
have heard of the warrior dying in the battle at 
the moment when his troops were raising the shout 
of victory. He dies like Samson, amidst the glories 
of his strength, and he slays in his death the last of 
his spiritual enemies. The last sound which he hears 
on earth is the clang of arms in the final contest 
with sin, as the first sound which he hears in heaven 
is the song of triumph. " Blessing, and honor, and 
glory, and power be unto him that sitteth on the 
throne, and to the lamb that was slain." 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON 
MOUNT PISGAH. 



" 1 have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt 
not go over thither. So Moses the servant of the Lord died 
there" (Deut. xxxiv. 4, 5) as compared with, "And the Lord 
spake unto Moses and Aaron, Ye believed me not, to sanctify me 
in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring 
this congregation into the land which I have given them " 
(Numb. xx. 12). It went ill with Moses for their sakes, because 
they provoked his spirit so that he spake unadvisedly with his 
lips." — Ps. cvi. 32, 33. 

1\ TOSES was now one hundred and twenty years 
old ; he had run his allotted course, and his sun, 
looking larger and brighter as it set, was about to 
sink below the horizon. In the chastening dispen- 
sations of Heaven he was not to be allowed to tread 
the dust of that sacred land towards which he had 
been travelling these forty past years. But God, who 
mingles mercies with his judgments, was to grant 
him a favorable view of it. He was instructed to 
ascend that mountain range which stretches through 
Moab, to the highest peak in it, w unto the moun- 
tain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah," and there to 
behold the land and then die. As he stood on 
this height he had behind him the wilderness, the 



298 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



place of his wanderings, of his joys and his sorrows 
for so many years of glorious privilege mingled with 
the sharpest trials ; and before him, across the valley 
of the Jordan, which lay almost at the foot of the 
mountain, he saw facing him the long-looked-for land 
of Canaan, with its romantic hills and its fertile plains 
and its populous cities. His reflections must have 
been such as are wont to pass through the mind of 
every Christian pilgrim as he feels his earthly career 
drawing to a close, and has a glimpse of the glory to 
be revealed. We invite you this day to ascend Mount 
Pisgah with the Jewish law-giver and prophet, in order 
to witness the instructive sight, and engage in reflec- 
tions suited to the place and the time. As we stand 
on the imposing eminence, let us always attend first 
to the position, and what we may suppose to be the 
thoughts of Moses, and then to the lessons which we 
may gather as pilgrims heavenwards. 

I. 

MOSES HAD AN OPPORTUNITY OF LOOKING BACK 
ON HIS WILDERNESS JOURNEY. 

And what a number of thoughts, some of them joy- 
ful, some of them sorrowful, all of them solemn, must 
have risen up as his mind wandered back over the 
scenes of the past ! I have been told by one who was 
all but drowned on the ocean, that in the brief space 
which intervened between the time in which he real- 
ized the full danger, and the unconciousness which 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 2QO, 

followed, he saw at one brief but comprehensive 
glance all the leading events of his past life as if the 
book of God's remembrance had been spread out 
before him, with its forgotten incidents as it were writ- 
ten in letters of fire. Such a canvas may have been 
spread out before the aged prophet as he sat with 
undimmed eye upon that mountain. His memory 
indeed did not go back to that scene of his infancy 
when he was exposed among the flags on the banks 
of the crocodile-haunted river ; but his earliest recol- 
lections may have been of the story as told by the 
sister who watched for him and the kind benefactress 
who relieved him. And then there would rise before 
his mind that training, not without its profit, in all the 
learning of the Egyptians, and that better profit which 
he had from a believing father's counsels and a be- 
lieving mother's prayers. He might next hear the 
cruel lashing of the taskmaster and the groaning of 
the bondsmen; and he would have a momentary 
glimpse, as if by sunlight streaming through the clouds, 
of that courageous step which he was enabled to take 
in casting in his lot with his afflicted brethren. Then 
he would see himself leaving behind him all his 
brilliant earthly prospects as the adopted son of Pha- 
roah's daughter, and hastening to bury himself in that 
solitary desert, and seating himself by the well where 
it was appointed by Heaven that the partner of his 
future life should meet him, and feeding on the 
mountains the flocks consigned to him for long but 
not unpleasant or unprofitable years. Then he would 



30o 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



remember the bush-burning, and the call of God, and 
the return to Egypt; and he would hear pealing on 
his ears the echo of the awful plagues which com- 
pelled the tyrant to let go his grasp, and the terrible 
cry at midnight when the first-born was slain in every 
house, and have before him the flight in the morning 
and the eager pursuit, and the last view of Pharoah 
and his host sinking like lead in the waters. Next 
he would have a vivid view of the bare desert, but 
with the manna lying on it, and the stream which the 
rock had yielded winding through it ; and the bold 
mountain, even Sinai, with the thunders and lightnings 
and the tempest, and the voice of God proclaiming 
the eternal law. He would follow the onward march, 
with the pillar of cloud shading them by day and 
ever kindled into a pillar of fire by night; and there 
would rise up before him the murmurings and rebel- 
lion of the people, and he would perceive them driven 
back from the very borders of the land into which 
they might triumphantly have entered. A tear for 
the moment may have dimmed his eyes as he thought 
of the strife at Meribah Kadesh, and how he himself 
fell into the sin for which he rebuked the children of 
Israel ; and he would see the road, winding, crossing, 
and recrossing, by which he had conducted them 
these thirty-eight years through the waste-howling 
wilderness. But can this scene, which may have 
passed before him in a briefer period than I have 
taken to describe it, be a reality, or is it only a vision 
seen in the mists of the mountains? A reality it was, 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 301 

and a reality it is, for good and for evil, in the 
influence which it has left ; for by this circuitous way 
has he been brought to the very borders of that coun- 
try which he sees across the Jordan, — which he sees, 
but which he is not allowed to enter. 

Now it may be profitable, with God blessing it, for 
all of us thus to survey human life behind and before 
us. The young man just setting out on the journey 
may find it a good thing thus to look at and study 
the map which the travellers, inspired and uninspired, 
who have gone before have sketched of that country 
which they have themselves to traverse. It would 
dissipate many an illusion which the youthful fancy 
is drawing, and save from many a bitter disappoint- 
ment, thus to view the reality which is awaiting them. 
Let them know and believe and realize, that while 
there are enjoyments numerous and varied in human 
life, there are at the same time hard duties to perform, 
and sifting temptations to which if they yield it will 
be to subject them to trouble for years, perhaps for a 
lifetime. Let them be told how large a portion of 
human life is through a desert with the bare sand and 
fearful pits all around them, and how sure they are 
to wander if they do not attend to the cloud raised in 
the heavens to guide them by day, and the light kin- 
dled in the sky at night. Let them know that if they 
follow the Heaven-appointed path, they will at last be 
conducted to the land of uprightness; but let them 
know that if they fall short of this through unbelief 
they must suffer the disastrous consequences which 



302 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



shall pursue them as avengers appointed by God, 
like the diseases which strewed the desert with the 
carcasses of the children of Israel. By attending to 
lessons given in the Word of God and by the wise and 
good of all ages, they will be saved from much disap- 
pointment and much sorrow, and be better able to 
profit by privileges and the training vouchsafed to 
them. 

It may be profitable, too, to those farther ad- 
vanced in life, in the midst of the journey to ascend 
such an eminence, when God allows it, and to take a 
retrospective survey of the country which they have 
gone over, and thus be in better circumstances to 
realize what is before them. Does not God supply us 
with a quiet Sabbath, for this end among others, that 
from its holy height we may get a Pisgah view of the 
past and of the future ! Does he not from time to time 
lay us on a bed of weakness that we may calmly sur- 
vey the past, see it as it were from above and from 
a higher region, see it as it is, and not as it appeared 
in the bushes and confusing brakes through which 
we have had to find our way in the bustle of business? 
And how can those who would bring forth fruit in 
old age be so profitably employed as in gathering 
lessons from their past lives, from their own experience 
and the dealings of God towards them, and taking a 
view across the valley of the pleasant land that is now 
lying immediately before them? 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 303 



II. 

MOSES WAS NOT PERMITTED TO ENTER THE LAND. 

" I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but 
thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant 
of the Lord died there." There must, I suspect, have 
been a sentiment of sadness, not only when he cast 
his eyes behind him, but when he surveyed the scene 
before him. For had he not regarded that land with 
brightest anticipations for many long years, in the 
midst of the oppressions of Egypt and the toils of 
the wilderness? It was the land of his fathers, the 
land promised to their children, the land to which he 
had been conducting the people ; and no doubt he 
looked towards it as the exile does towards his native 
land, beloved by him all the more that he is away from 
it. And it is doomed that he is to die there in sight 
of it, but without being permitted to set his foot on it; 
he is to be cut off at the very time when the people 
are ready to cross the Jordan and enter triumphantly 
into possession. Is there not, as it were, a feast 
placed before him without his being allowed to taste 
of it? " Why," he might ask, " are there hopes kindled 
in me only to be quenched in darkness? The very 
riches of the country described as a land flowing with 
milk and honey, and where one may wash his robes 
in the blood of the grape, only add to my disappoint- 
ment as I am made to feel that I can never enjoy 



304 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



them. * Surely the vine is of the vine of Sodom, and 
of the fields of Gomorrah : the grapes are grapes of 
gall, their clusters are bitter.' " Such thoughts may 
have risen in the bosom even of the meekest of men ; 
and he may have felt like the mariner, who, after suc- 
cessfully buffeting every storm and escaping every 
rock, is at last wrecked on his native shores where 
friends are waiting to welcome him. 

Brethren, we are thus reminded of the important 
truth that there is no lasting peace, no thorough soul 
satisfaction to be found in the objects of this world. 
I am not to indulge here in empty declamation against 
the good things of this present life. I have heard 
James quoted as if he said that " money is the root of 
all evil." My friends, money is not the root of any 
evil ; but " the love of money may be the root of all 
evil." So far as health and strength, food and rai- 
ment, home and friends, wealth and influence, com- 
forts and elegances, and beauty in sky and earth, in 
creature inanimate and animate, in plant and animal, 
in man and woman, are esteemed as gifts of God, so 
far they are good in themselves and good for us ; and 
he that morosely or monkishly condemns them and 
speaks against them may be contemning the works 
of God, which are to be used as not abusing them ; 
to be employed in the service of God, and to be en- 
joyed with grateful and loving hearts. God does not 
so adorn the lily of the field that we may depreciate 
it, but that we may consider it and love the Maker of it. 
But when we put that creature in the room of the 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 305 

Creator, when we set our heart on the gift and neg- 
lect the giver, when we expect to get soul content- 
ment and abiding happiness from any of the objects of 
this world, then are we breaking the first command- 
ment ; we are placing other gods before the living and 
the true God, and encouraging hopes which must ter- 
minate in disappointment and misery. I am not 
recommending you to undervalue the gifts of God, 
but I am warning you against cherishing the belief 
that they can give true peace and contentment to fill 
and satisfy the soul. 

If we stop ourselves at any given moment and 
ask if we are perfectly happy, we shall be obliged to 
admit that there is something wanting. But then 
we deceive ourselves with the hope that what we 
have not secured we may yet obtain. Only let us 
acquire some more acres, only let us add a little 
more to our present stock of wealth, only let us 
have this further enjoyment and gain this further 
honor, and then we expect to have unbroken happi- 
ness. Only let this threatening cloud be scattered, 
and we hope for unending sunshine; only let us 
climb this other height, and we are sure that the 
long-looked-for scene which is to satisfy our souls 
will burst upon our view. Now, these are the expec- 
tations which I wish to check, as it is certain they 
can never be realized. For, first, it is not by any 
means certain that we shall obtain further accessions 
of the objects we are in search of. The storms may 
descend ere we reach that other height which we 

20 



306 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



have been eying with such eagerness. The clouds, 
threatening new storms, may return after the rain. 
Instead of the cup being filled, it may be dashed in 
pieces before our eyes. And secondly, on the sup- 
position that we gain what we have been seeking, 
what reason have we for thinking that the new ob- 
jects would be better than the old? The young and 
inexperienced may imagine that in the distant spot 
on the landscape on which the sun is shining there 
must be a paradise still lingering on our earth ; but 
when they go to it they find it very much like the 
other parts of the earth's surface. Often in sailing 
the rough ocean have I imagined that away in the 
horizon there is an unbroken calm ; but on the vessel 
reaching the spot it has turned out to be agitated and 
distracted like the place from which I surveyed it. 
After we have got what we wished, we are obliged to 
say, What is all this to me as long as something else 
is denied? What are all these honors to me as long 
as Mordecai the Jew sits at the king's gate? The 
serpent which entered the garden and succeeded in 
tempting our first parents is still lurking amid the 
flowers, and may spring up at any time to sting and 
to poison by crosses and temptations. The con- 
queror wades through blood to gain the laurel crown, 
only to find how rapidly its leaves wither on his 
brow and become an incumbrance. In regard to 
not a few of our enjoyments we are made to see 
that after the rose has blown away the thorn remains. 
We gather round the imposing show as children do 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 307 

around the blaze of crackling thorns, only to find 
how speedily the flame dies down, and that only 
ashes remain. We quaff the bowl, to experience that 
the dregs are bitter. Cease, I beseech you, from 
these pursuits, which are as vain as the chase of the 
boy after the rainbow which he never reaches, or 
after the butterfly which he catches only to destroy. 
Man's soul, formed at first in the image of God, and 
yet with immortal desires, can be satisfied with noth- 
ing else than with God, and will die without reaching 
peace if he sets his affections on anything lower or 
earthly. 

III. 

MOSES WAS NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER THE LAND 
BECAUSE OF SIN. 

We have the occurrence fully recorded in Num- 
bers xx. 7-13. From this account it appears that 
Moses had hastened to the rock under the influence 
of that impetuosity which, I rather think, was natu- 
ral to him, rather than the meekness and patience 
which he had acquired by the grace and discipline 
of God. The command was to speak unto the rock 
before the eyes of the children of Israel, in the as- 
surance that waters would come out to give drink 
to the congregation and their beasts. Moses did in- 
deed obey the command in a way ; he gathered the 
people together, but he addressed them in a harsh 
manner: "Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch you 



308 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



water out of this rock?" And instead of speaking to 
the rock in simple faith he smote it, and smote it twice. 
As the Psalmist comments (Ps. cvi. 32, 33), " They 
angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it 
went ill with Moses for their sakes: because they 
provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly 
with his lips." The origin of the sin is traced to 
unbelief: " Because ye believed me not, to sanctify 
me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore 
ye shall not bring this congregation into the land 
which I have given them." In short, he here for 
once fell into the very sins of unbelief and impa- 
tience for which he had so often rebuked the peo- 
ple; and so God, who is no respecter of persons, 
declared that he should not have the honor of con- 
ducting them into the land, because " ye sanctified 
me not in the eyes of the children of Israel." 

The incident has its lessons. " It is only one sin," 
we hear persons saying when they are charged with 
their iniquity; "it is only one sin. It is naught; it 
is naught." Such persons may wonder that one sin 
should have kept Moses out of Canaan. But God 
would thus show us how grievous every sin is in 
his sight. He who commits one sin is guilty of 
all (James ii. 10) ; has broken that law which is 
holy, just, and good, and every precept of which is 
binding upon us and cannot be disregarded with 
impunity. 

We see how apt sin is to remain within after we 
thought it had disappeared, and to break out when 



MOSES* DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 309 



it is least looked for. Little perhaps did Moses 
think that the natural vehemence of temper, the 
unbelief and the impatience which he had taken 
such pains to subdue, would ever appear again ; and 
yet they here burst out in the view of all the people. 
When evil habits have been formed, they will ever 
tend to impel us in the old ways. Passions and lusts 
that have been fondled will ever strive to regain 
their ascendency. It is thus that we have seen one 
who was long a swearer, but who had abandoned 
the practice, at times giving way to profanity under 
the influence of passion ; thus that we have seen the 
old sore of licentiousness which had been skinned 
over again bursting out in unchastity ; thus that we 
have seen the very converted sinner returning to his 
cherished sins " like the dog to its vomit, and the 
sow that was washed to its wallowing in the mire." 
God by exposing Moses to this discipline shows how 
great the evil and the danger involved in thus allow- 
ing spiritual enemies to lodge in our hearts, whence 
they may break forth at any time for robbery and 
pillage and conquest. 

The same lesson is taught us in the providence 
of God. The declining life of many is imbittered 
by sins perpetrated it may be many years before. 
How often has the dissipated, the licentious man 
to carry about with him a broken constitution ; and 
the man who has been guilty of cunning and de- 
ceit is exposed for life to suspicion and odium ; 
and the unfaithful father or mother has to bear 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



the torments of rebellious or prodigal children. 
Even when none of these effects follow, there is 
the scandal of the offence in the eyes of our fellow- 
men : " because ye sanctified me not in the eyes 
of the children of Israel." The very people of God 
have to bear for years, perhaps all their lives, the 
influences and the effects of sins which have been 
repented of and been forgiven. Ah, my friends, 
unless these sins of ours are blotted out by the 
blood of Jesus, they will follow us farther than the 
hour of death; they will add one other pang to 
the pains of dissolution; they will be found written 
as with indelible ink in God's book of accounts, to 
justify him in pronouncing the sentence, " Depart 
into everlasting fire ! " Sin kept Moses from enter- 
ing the land of Canaan, but it is keeping multitudes 
from an infinitely higher blessedness; it is preventing 
them from entering the heavenly Canaan. 

Under the last head I showed you that the believer 
is not to expect pure and unmixed happiness on 
this side the grave. Many are willing to acknowl- 
edge this truth who are not prepared for the further 
and the deeper one that all this arises from the in- 
fluence of sin. For, first of all, these trials are the 
fruit, directly or indirectly, of sin. By sin death en- 
tered into our world, and with death all our other 
woes. When persons are in health and in posses- 
sion of the necessaries and some of the comforts of 
life, and with the members of their family and their 
friends in the same position, there is no reason why 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 3 1 1 

they should not be contented. But the fact that 
even in such circumstances there are anxieties and 
fears is a proof that there is something troubling us. 
That which thus disturbs us is no doubt an accus- 
ing and unappeased conscience speaking to us in the 
name of God and telling us that we are sinners, and 
along with this desires which are craving and are 
never satisfied. We say, " Peace, peace," but there is 
no peace ; for how can there be peace when the soul 
is not at peace with its Maker? We gratify the de- 
sires only to find that they crave the more. The eye 
is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing, 
nor the ambition with success, nor the lust with grati- 
fication ; but each in its own voice is crying with the 
daughter of the horse-leech, "Give, give!" This is 
the worm which corrupts the gourd of our pros- 
perity. And these disturbing causes can never be 
removed except by the blood which speaketh peace, 
and by the sanctifying power of God's own Spirit. 
Sin is thus directly or indirectly the cause of our 
never being able to enter upon perfect peace. Not 
that our trials and sufferings are to be regarded as 
necessarily the punishment of any one sin, or even 
as the punishment of all our sins, or indeed as the 
punishment of sin in any sense. They may be sent 
not so much to punish as to purify. I have no 
doubt this last trial was laid on Moses to complete 
the work of discipline, and fit him for immediate 
entrance into glory. You may, I dare say, have 
wondered why the dying Christian is often kept so 



312 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



long on a bed of languishing and distress. Why is 
the body so tortured with pain? Why is the whole 
frame so feeble and emaciated? Why is the spirit so 
sunk and depressed? Why is the soul, which imme- 
diately after death is to be admitted to the fulness 
of joy, not allowed a more agreeable passage to it? 
Why is there not a peaceful advance to perfect en- 
joyment as the dawn gradually brightens into the 
morning; or rather why are not the spirits of good 
men carried at once to heaven, like those of Enoch 
and Elijah, without tasting of death? An answer 
can be given to this question which ought to be 
satisfactory. There is some remaining sin which 
needs to be once more corrected, some Christian 
grace yet feeble which needs to be called forth into 
full exercise. There is yet some stain upon the love* 
liness of the soul before it is fitted for those mansions 
into which there can enter nothing that defileth. 



IV. 

MOSES WAS PERMITTED TO OBTAIN A VIEW OF 
THE LAND OF PROMISE. 

There may have been a feeling of pain called forth 
by the scene, but surely there must have been much 
more of pleasure. Though one hundred and twenty 
years old, his eye was not dim, and what a wide and 
rich view was spread out before it ! On the right was 
the rich pasture of Bashan rising upwards to the rocky 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 313 

and yet grassy mountains of Gilead, extending on to 
Dan, the northern boundary of the land, the view be- 
ing bounded by the lofty mountains of Lebanon, with 
their snowy tops glistening at that season in the re- 
turning sun of spring. Turning round from the north 
towards the west, he had more immediately before 
him the portion allotted afterwards to Naphtali, and 
then the rich plain of Esdraelon, and the territories 
which fell to Ephraim and Manasseh; and beyond 
he got a glimpse of the utmost sea, over which the 
sun set. Farther south there was in the distance the 
hill country of Judah, where David afterwards fed his 
flocks, and immediately below him the Jordan rolling 
its waters, swollen by the melting snow, onward to the 
Dead Sea, and beyond it the city of Jericho embosomed 
in palm-trees, on to Zoar on the lake, and the wilder- 
ness beyond. The ascent must have been made 
in our February or March, the most agreeable sea- 
son which that region furnishes, and the one which 
travellers choose for visiting the country. We have 
nothing exactly corresponding to it in our land, for 
it combines some of the features of our spring with 
some of the peculiarities of our early autumn. It 
is described in the Song of Songs : " For lo, the winter 
is past, the rain is over and gone ; the flowers appear 
on the earth ; the time of the singing of birds is come, 
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the 
fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with 
the tender grape give a good smell." And contem- 
poraneous with this, the grain which had been sown 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



some months before was waving in the fields, and 
beginning in the earliest spots to whiten unto the 
harvest. But it was not the mere beauty and 
magnificence of the landscape — though these must 
have been relished to the utmost by one who had 
so exquisite a poetical taste — which imparted to it 
its highest attractions in the estimation of Moses. 
He valued and rejoiced in it more as the land which 
God sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, 
saying, I will give it to thy seed ; as the land to be 
speedily possessed by the people for whose benefit he 
had toiled ; as the land in regard to which his own 
prophecies had been uttered ; as the land big with the 
destinies of the world; as the land in which there 
was to arise that seed in whom all the nations of the 
earth were to be blessed; as the land in which the 
prophet like unto himself, and greater than himself, was 
to appear, and to whom the people were to hearken. 
Never did any exile long banished from the land of 
his fathers experience such an emotion of delight in 
beholding once more his own country and visiting the 
spot in which he had been brought up. It may be 
doubted whether any earthly scene ever awoke so 
deep a feeling in any human bosom as this Pisgah 
view did in the breast of Moses. 

I have been calling upon you to reflect under a 
former head that the objects of this world cannot 
satisfy the soul any more than the wilderness and its 
wanderings could satisfy the Israelites. Yet there 
was a rest provided for God's ancient people which 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 315 

one generation failed to obtain by reason of unbelief, 
but which was gained by the next. So there is still 
a rest remaining for the people of God. There is a 
rest remaining for them, as we shall see forthwith, in 
heaven. But there is more ; there is a rest for them 
in this earth. Indeed, unless we lay hold of this rest 
on earth we shall never be drawn up to the rest in 
heaven. Our distractions in this world, we have seen, 
proceed from sin ; but there is a rest remaining for 
the sinner even in this life if he will but enter in. 
There is the rest from a troubled conscience, the rest 
from the wrath of God, the peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ on the 
one hand satisfies Divine Justice, and on the other 
pacifies the conscience, and is thus called expressively 
his peace-speaking blood. Then again there is the 
peace produced by the spirit of Christ, the peace 
effected in our spirits by the oil of the Spirit poured 
on the troubled waters, the peace of a sanctified mind, 
the great peace of those who love God's holy law, 
the peace of spiritual-mindedness. "To be spiritually 
minded is life and peace." This, I say, is a rest pro- 
vided in this life. We enter into it by faith, for " we 
who believe do enter into rest ; " and men fall short of 
it only through unbelief. God does not indeed give 
his people absolute rest in this world ; this he reserves 
for another. " This is not our rest, for that it is 
polluted." The storms may often be raging around 
them ; but as the sailor in the tempest casts out anchor 
and keeps his place till the winds have spent their 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



fury, so they who have hope as the anchor of the 
soul sure and steadfast, being fixed on that which 
is within the veil, though they may be moved, are 
" not much moved," but are enabled to keep their 
place, and are ready to start with the first favorable 
wind of heaven. And there are times when for the 
encouragement of his people God gives them fore- 
tastes of glory, refreshing as the cluster of grapes 
brought from the riches of the land to Moses in the 
wilderness. On the quiet and peacefulness of a Sab- 
bath day, as we engage in prayer or meditation, nay, 
at times in our solitary walks as we muse on divine 
things, we find that the fire burns, and we are made to 
feel that God is near and that heaven is in view. Or 
at our sacramental seasons he takes us up as it were 
to his holy mount, and meets with us, and causes us 
to exclaim, " It is good for us to be here." Or when 
two or three Christian friends are conversing of Jesus, 
like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, sud- 
denly he joins them ; and though their eyes are let so 
that they do not know at the time that it is the Lord, 
yet they are made afterwards to exclaim, " Did notour 
hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the 
way and opened to us the Scriptures?" My friends, 
we live beneath our privileges ; we fall short of them 
through unbelief. At the feasts of the Jews, which 
were regulated by the moon, persons were accustomed 
to ascend the mountains, to see the earliest beams of 
the rising luminary, and proclaim to the dwellers in 
the towns and villages below that the season of joy 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 317 



had come; let us from time to time ascend such an 
elevation, that we may anticipate some of the blessed- 
ness of heaven and receive some of its light on our 
spirits, to rejoice in it ourselves and call on others to 
join with us. If we had but sufficient faith we might 
ascend the top of Pisgah, to behold the land of prom- 
ise lying before us. 



V. 

MOSES ENTERED AT ONCE INTO THE HEAVENLY 
CANAAN. 

After he had seen all the land, " Moses, the servant 
of the Lord, died there, according to the word of the 
Lord." No man knoweth his sepulchre unto this 
day ; and this, no doubt, lest the people whom he had 
such difficulty in keeping from idolatry in his life- 
time might have fallen into it after his death as they 
paid pilgrimage to his tomb. His spirit sank be- 
hind yon mountain-top, that all men might look after 
it into the region to which it had gone. No depart- 
ure, not that of the sun sinking in his splendor, not 
that of Elijah in the chariot of fire, could have been 
grander and more sublime. He had seen the land, 
and knew that God's promises were true ; and in the 
last lingering look towards it he may have seen by 
faith the people entering it in triumph : and so he 
died, like the warrior, in the midst of the excitement 
of the battle, but with the certainty that the victory 



3i8 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



was won. When the aged Simeon received the child 
Jesus in his arms, he exclaimed, " Now lettest thou 
thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, 
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation ; " and such 
may have been the exultant feeling of Moses as he 
turned his eye away from the earthly to look towards 
the heavenly scene. The earthly Canaan, the last 
object seen by him on earth, faded from his vision, 
and the heavenly Canaan opened upon his view, and 
he gazed with still undimmed eye upon " a pure river 
of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the 
throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the 
street of it, and on either side of the river was there 
the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, 
and yielded her fruit every month," joining the fruits 
and riches of harvest with the buds and hopes of 
spring, and beyond the throne of God, towering high 
above, and firmer than the everlasting hills ; and the 
whole shining in a light before which the light of day 
grows pale. " The city had no need of the sun, 
neither of the moon to shine in it; for the glory of 
God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." 
Verily God gives more than he promises ; he had 
said, " I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, 
but thou shalt not go over thither." But he did go 
over thither, for his spirit crossed at once the Jordan 
that lay between, and the earthly passed away like 
night before the light of the morning, to show him 
the heavenly, — the reality of which the other was 
but the shadow. 



MOSES' DYING REFLECTIONS ON PISGAH. 319 



In contemplating such a scene, I dare say the wish 
now in the hearts of many is, " Let me die the 
death of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
his." Ah, that was the prayer of one who died the 
death of the wicked ! But that inheritance reached 
by Moses is also yours. It lies before you if you 
have faith to see it, if you have only faith to enter 
in. But w let us fear lest a promise being left us of 
entering into his rest, any of you should seem to 
come short of it." Our Lord said to a certain young 
man, "Thou art not far from the kingdom of heaven ; " 
and yet it does not appear that he ever entered it. Ah, 
there is something peculiarly melancholy in the case 
of those who thus perish within reach of safety, perish 
like the shipwrecked mariner who had reached the 
shore where friends were ready to receive him, only 
to be sucked back by the recoiling wave. Ah, there 
are many such, I fear, among professing Christians ! 
They seem to be out of the house of bondage, and to 
be journeying on to the land of promise; but by a 
strange infatuation they never reach it, for they wan- 
der all their lives in an intermediate wilderness, some- 
times sending out a stray messenger to spy the land 
of milk and honey lying before them, but at other 
times longing for the pleasures, the flesh-pots of their 
former state, and dying, after all, when they have only 
obtained a distant prospect of it, having seen enough 
to make them long for the rest and security which it 
affords, but enough also to make them regret that so 
much has been lost by them. 



320 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



The boy imagines that he would be nearer heaven 
if he stood on that mountain which cleaves the sky 
than he now is when he stands on the plain below. 
But truly, if we but think it, heaven is as near us 
here as it ever can be on earth. We may even now, 
and this by simple faith, enter into possession of 
the promised blessings which are free as the air of 
heaven around us. " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and thou shalt be saved." " We who have believed 
do enter into rest." N 



IN THE RESURRECTION SAINTS ARE 
AS ANGELS. 



They are as the angels of God in heaven. — Matt. xxii. 30. 



HERE are few or none who do not entertain 



some hope of attaining the blessedness of 
heaven. Believers in Christ, and they alone, are 
entitled to cherish this hope; but multitudes are 
clinging to it without ground or foundation. Many- 
altogether unfitted for the holiness of heaven are yet 
cherishing the hope of securing its happiness. The 
man of lively fancy delights to picture a scene of 
grandeur for which, alas ! he is making no prepa- 
ration. The idle sentimentalist dreams of unmingled 
joys for the enjoyment of which the state of his 
affections altogether disqualifies him. The disap- 
pointed man, on being frustrated in some of his 
schemes of ambition, cleaves to the hope of heaven ; 
but only till such time as his earthly prospects begin 
once more to brighten, when his courage returns, and 
he sets out as eagerly as ever in pursuit of aggran- 
dizement. He who is racked with pain will look to 
heaven as the termination of all his agony, even when 
he has no reason to think that he has acquired a 
heavenly temper. It is astonishing to observe the 




322 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



complacency with which many who have never lived 
the life of the Christian will yet look forward, when 
on a dying bed, to his joys. Few, indeed, are so hard- 
ened as to be able to part with this hope, and to con- 
template their souls either as being utterly annihilated, 
or as consigned to the place from which all light and 
joy are forever shut out. Some, it is true, were they 
only free from bodily pain and insured of success, 
would be contented to live here forever amidst all 
the pollution that abounds. But the living — the 
wicked, as well as others — know that they must die. 
They know it, they cannot but know it ; they are re- 
minded of it every time they feel the symptoms of 
weakness or decay in their own persons, every time 
they hear of the death of a dear friend, every time 
they see the long funeral wind away to the place of 
the dead. Seeing, then, that they must soon be cast 
out of the troubled ocean of this world at any rate, 
the most thoughtless and abandoned would at least 
wish to have a haven of rest on the shores of 
eternity. 

And would we damp these glowing hopes, these 
bright anticipations? Would we unmercifully eradi- 
cate all such wishes from the heart? Are the lively 
fancy and the deep sentiments of man to be bounded 
by the confines of time and of this world? Are the 
disappointed to be consigned forever to darkness, 
without a gleam of hope to lighten their path or cheer 
their spirits? Is the sick man, tossed on a bed of dis- 
tress, to be allowed no hope of a respite? No, my 



IN THE RESURRECTION SAINTS ARE AS ANGELS. 323 

friends ; so far from trying to keep you from looking 
upward and onward to heaven, we would rather seek 
to give it a prominent place, and fix your eye more 
steadfastly on it as the goal which you are ever 
striving to attain. But then we would have you 
take proper and enlightened — that is, scriptural and 
spiritual — views of the nature of heaven, and of the 
joys which God has there prepared for his chosen 
people. Let all, even the wicked, think much and 
often of heaven ; but let them think of it as it is, — 
as the abode of a holy God, as the dwelling-place of 
holiness. If the unconverted sinner but think of its 
real nature, he would see clearly that a man must be 
born again before he can enter the kingdom of God. 
Were the believer habitually to entertain exalted 
views of the spiritual joys of heaven, he would find 
that while his hopes were not thereby rendered less 
lively, they would have a greater tendency to purify 
him even as heaven is pure. 

Now, we find much that is fitted to throw light on 
the joys of heaven in this declaration of our Lord. It 
seems that the Sadducees, who did not believe in the 
doctrine of the resurrection, in their anxiety to entrap 
the Saviour had constructed an elaborate, though 
withal an exceedingly flimsy and superficial, argu- 
ment against the doctrine of the resurrection of 
the body. They supposed that a certain woman 
had married seven successive husbands, being all 
brothers, and that she had done so in obedience 
to the law of Moses, which enjoined that when a 



324 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



husband died without issue his brother should marry 
the widow. Having conjured up this case, they ask 
triumphantly, Whose wife shall she be of the seven? 
Our Saviour does not deem it worthy of him to exam- 
ine narrowly this weak and quibbling objection; but 
he gives a direct and a sufficient reply: "Ye do err, 
not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God ; 
for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are 
given in marriage, but they are as the angels of God 
in heaven." It is as if he had said, Your objection 
proceeds upon unworthy, earthly, sensual, unscrip- 
tural views of the nature of heaven. Heaven is a 
place of pure acts and exercises and elevated enjoy- 
ments, where the saints live as do the angels, in the 
presence of God. 

I. 

IN HEAVEN THE SAINTS ARE HOLY AS THE 
ANGELS ARE HOLY. 

We have no very particular account of the nature 
or of the occupations of the angelic host. We are 
made acquainted with their existence, not in order 
to gratify an idle curiosity, but to quicken our 
graces and to provoke us to love and good works, 
that we may through grace attain the same lofty 
character. All that we read of them is fitted and 
intended to show that they are exalted spirits of 
spotless purity. They are called expressively " the 
holy angels." They have never been stained by ini- 



IN THE RESURRECTION SAINTS ARE AS ANGELS. 325 

quity in sentiment or in act ; if they had, they would 
have been cast forth from the mansions of purity to 
join the condemned spirits in the place prepared for 
the Devil and his angels. Man no doubt differs from 
angels in this respect. He has through sin fallen 
from communion with God and from the companion- 
ship of angels and pure spirits. But we are now to 
show that it is the grand design of the gospel to 
raise man from his first estate and make him holy as 
the angels are holy. 

In going back to the original state of man we find 
that God made him a little lower than the angels, and 
crowned him with glory and with honor. But man, 
being in honor, abode not, but brought himself into 
a condition of pollution and condemnation. Now, it 
is the grand aim of the redemption purchased by 
Christ to remedy the effects of the fall and bring man 
back to his original condition. The gospel system 
announces itself all throughout as a remedial system, 
— remedial of the evils which sin entailed. By the 
redemption, God's chosen and called ones are saved 
both from the power and punishment of sin, — both 
from its pollution and its guilt. The guilt, the debt, 
the sentence of condemnation is blotted out by 
the blood which cleanseth from all sin, and the sin 
itself is taken away by the washing of regeneration 
and renewing of the Holy Ghost. And this work 
of renewal or sanctification goes on till it is complete, 
and until all sin is wiped away. We have no reason, 
indeed, to think that any mere man has arrived at 



326 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



perfection on this side of death. But while the be- 
liever in this life is not perfect, he is going on towards 
perfection, and he reaches it at death. 

To whom, then, are the portals of heaven thrown 
open? To none but those who are without spot and 
blemish. Their state and character are at once de- 
scribed by the apostle when he speaks of them as 
"the spirits of just men made perfect;" that is, 
they are justified persons (for so the phrase " just " is 
to be understood) in whom the work of sanctification 
is made perfect. Not indeed that our righteousness 
or perfection can give us any claim of merit or re- 
ward, or any title whatever to heaven. This can be 
procured for us only from a source altogether inde- 
pendent of ourselves, — only from the righteousness 
and sufferings of Christ. But it is not in the least 
inconsistent with this statement to affirm that perfec- 
tion is necessary to fit us for that holy place ; or, as 
the apostle expresses it (Col. i. 12), to make us meet 
" for the inheritance of the saints in light." It is jus- 
tification by the righteousness of Christ which gives 
us the title ; but it is perfection by the spirit of Christ 
which gives us the meetness. No others than the 
spirits that have been made perfect can be admitted 
into heaven. Without holiness no man can see the 
Lord. " And there shall in no wise enter into it 
anything that defileth." 

Let us then, my friends, when we would think of 
the perfect happiness of heaven, think also of its per- 
fect holiness. Let us not put asunder the things 



IN THE RESURRECTION SAINTS ARE AS ANGELS. 327 

which the Lord hath indissolubly joined together. 
One reason why it is a place of perfect happiness is, 
that it is a place of perfect holiness. Wherever there 
is sin there must be more or less of misery. With 
reverence be it spoken, were sin introduced into 
heaven it would stain all that is pure, mar all that is 
beautiful, degrade all that is grand. It would be a 
jarring note in the melody, and henceforth all could 
not be peace or harmony or joy. Let us, we repeat, 
when we think of heaven think of it as a place of 
spotless purity. If we do so, we cannot meditate 
upon it or realize its presence too frequently. 

But is it not too common among us when we think 
of heaven to think only of its joys and its pleas- 
ures? When the unconverted think of it, they think 
only of its loveliness and its splendor, its rest and its 
calm, its rivers of pleasure and its fulness of joy. 
They think not of the source of these joys in a holy 
God, and of the holiness of nature which the enjoy- 
ment of them presupposes. This is the reason why 
so many who will never reach heaven are yet in the 
time of disappointment and in the hour of trial cling- 
ing to the hope of it. They look upon it as a rest 
after labor, as a termination to all their trouble, as a 
quiet haven in which their bark may rest after being 
tossed by winds and waves in a lengthened voyage. 
While God's people do not overlook this view of 
heaven, they regard it also as a place free from sin. 
One reason why the believer longs so much for 
heaven is, that it is a place of holiness. When in this 



328 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



present world, he feels not only the burden of pain 
and fear and anguish ; he feels still more, and above 
all, the load of sin. " We that are in this tabernacle 
do groan, being burdened; " and the chief part of 
our burden is this, that sin is still cleaving to us and 
oppressing us. One chief reason leading the believer 
to long so much for the mansions of light is, that 
there not only all sorrow and sighing, but all sin and 
pollution flee away. He hopes not only for an end 
to all his cares and privations, not only for a blessed- 
ness such as he hath never been permitted to enjoy 
on earth; he hopes that, being freed from all evil 
dispositions and the sins which beset him, he shall be 
holy as the angels are holy. 



II. 

IN HEAVEN THE SAINTS, LIKE THE ANGELS, SHALL 
ENGAGE IN BECOMING ACTS AND EXERCISES. 

I say acts and exercises, for while heaven is to be a 
place of rest, it is not to be a place of idleness. This 
is another very prevalent mistake among professing 
Christians : they look upon heaven merely as a place 
of repose after labor, — like the slumbers of night 
after a day of activity. If we examine the common 
apprehensions of heaven, we shall find that they con- 
tain more or less of this idea. But by thus conceiv- 
ing of heaven and representing it they strip it of 
much of its loveliness and attractiveness to nobler 



IN THE RESURRECTION SAINTS ARE AS ANGELS. 329 



minds. By shutting out all idea of exercise and vari- 
ety and action, and above all of benevolence and 
usefulness, they leave little to engage the mind and 
draw our affections towards it; heaven thus comes 
to be looked upon as a place of dulness and of weari- 
ness. But heaven is no place of indolence and leth- 
argy; it is not a place of idleness and of uselessness. 
An eternity of sloth would be an eternity of irksome- 
ness. Better surely were it that the soul should sleep 
forever with its partner the body in the darkness and 
unconsciousness of the bed of the grave, than that it 
should be conducted to a place where there is life 
indeed, but without motive or activity, and where 
existence would be a tedium and a burden. 

In heaven the saints are to be as angels, and angels, 
we know, are active in the service of God. We know 
that the fallen angels are active, ever going about 
like wild beasts seeking souls as their prey ; and we 
have no reason to think that the holy angels are less 
active. They are the choir of the sanctuary above, 
where they sound the praises of God, and they rest 
not day nor night (mark this, they rest not), as they 
cry, " Halleluiah, for the Lord God Omnipotent 
reigneth ! " Nor is this all : as servants of God they 
have offices to perform in the worlds which God hath 
created. Their very name, angels,— that is, " messen- 
gers," — shows that they are sent on high and holy 
missions. They are represented as having numerous 
wings : with twain to cover their face and feet in holy 
adoration and reverence, they have twain wherewith 



330 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



to fly on the execution of the good purposes of God. 
Now they stand in the courts of heaven, making the 
air fragrant with the incense of their prayers and 
melodious with the sound of their grateful praise; 
and now they travel with messages of great joy to 
some being or world placed in the outer regions 
of space. In particular, angels are represented as 
executing many of God's purposes towards his 
church. Flaming cherubim turned every way to 
keep the way of the tree of life in Eden. Angels 
brought messages to the patriarchs. They delivered 
Lot from Sodom, and Jacob from Esau, conducted 
Gideon to victory, executed the vengeance of God 
on the armies of Sennacherib, delivered Daniel from 
the lions, and the three children of Israel from the 
furnace; they announced the birth of the Baptist; 
they saved Peter from the Jews, and instructed Paul 
before his shipwreck ; and, more honorable still, an an- 
gel announced the birth of our Lord to Mary. Angels 
ministered to Christ after his temptation, and again 
in his agony ; and they rolled away the great stone 
from the tomb where Jesus lay, and they were privi- 
leged to announce that their Lord was risen. They 
are still ministering spirits, sent to minister to all 
them who are heirs of salvation ; they carry the spirits 
of the departed to the bosom of Jesus. An arch- 
angel's trumpet shall sound when the dead rise from 
their graves ; and angels shall separate the good 
from the evil at the day of judgment. At the resur- 
rection the saints shall be as angels, and we may 



IN THE RESURRECTION SAINTS ARE AS ANGELS. 33 1 

therefore conceive them as engaging in similar works 
and exercises. 

In particular, the saints, like the angels, engage in 
singing the praises of God. In several parts of Scrip- 
ture the veil that separates this world from the next 
is partially withdrawn, and we get glimpses of the 
glory which is afterwards to be more fully revealed. 
We are by these inspiring visions carried up in the 
spirit into heaven, that we may bask for a little, and 
for the refreshing of our souls, in the light and radi- 
ance of these upper regions, and hear at least the 
echo of their music. In almost every view presented, 
angels and saints are represented as joining together 
to praise a common God and that Eternal Word 
through whom God is manifested (Rev. v.) : " And I 
beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round 
about the throne, and the living creatures, and the 
elders; and the number of them was ten thousand 
times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 
saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that 
was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 
and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." 
Nor do they ever become weary in this service ; their 
hearts are in unison with their song, and ever as they 
behold and know more of God and of the Lamb they 
find new themes of praise and new matter for wonder 
and for thankfulness. 

Further, the saints, like the angels, are engaged in 
contemplating the works of God, and especially his won- 
ders in Providence and Redemption. Angels are repre- 



332 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



sented as deeply interested in the observation of the 
works of God's hands. It was their privilege to sing 
the anthem of creation. "The morning stars sang 
together, and the sons of God did shout for joy." 
Their lofty spirits are engaged in contemplating the 
higher wonders of redemption. When the disciples 
looked into the tomb of Jesus they saw two angels, 
one standing at the head and another at the foot. 
Ah, it was an instructive place, that empty tomb of 
Jesus ! Well might the disciples look into it. An- 
gels were there before them ; angels who had been 
in heaven were learning instruction on earth, and 
they were learning it in a tomb ! These things the 
angels desire to look into. One of the grand ob- 
jects contemplated by the incarnation of Christ was 
to the intent that unto angels and principalities and 
powers might be made known the manifold wisdom 
of God. They look with interest on the progress of 
the gospel on earth, and " there is joy in heaven 
among the holy angels over every sinner that re- 
penteth." It seems only reasonable to suppose that 
the saints in light will be employed in a similar work 
of contemplation. Every faculty which God has given 
will there, matured and purified, be acquiring high 
and ever higher knowledge. They will now see in 
the light of heaven the meaning of those dark dis- 
pensations of Divine Providence which seemed so 
inscrutable to them on earth. They will now compre- 
hend by brightened mental powers those parts of the 
plan of redemption which before seemed wrapped in 



IN THE RESURRECTION SAINTS ARE AS ANGELS. 333 

clouds and mystery, — a work this in which they may 
engage throughout eternity, and ever be discover- 
ing some new proofs of Divine wisdom and goodness 
throughout a wide-extending universe, or in the ever 
varied and ever bountiful manifestations and dealings 
of God, anew and anew unfolded. 

Yet further, in heaven the saints, like the angels, are 
engaged in works of love. The angels, we have seen, 
are actively employed in the service of God. God 
gives his angels a charge concerning us, and they 
have various offices of ministration to discharge for 
Christ and for his church. And if the saints are to 
be like angels, we may conceive them to be simi- 
larly employed; and Christ no doubt has a work 
for them to do and ready for them in those many 
mansions of his Father's house which he is pre- 
paring for them. The whole method of the Divine 
procedure, so far as it comes under our view, seems 
to be carried on by a system of means or in- 
struments. God fulfils his purposes by agents em- 
ployed by him who are blessed themselves and 
conveying blessings to others, who are happy and 
diffusing happiness. Even in inanimate creation on 
earth we find that nothing is useless ; everything has 
a purpose to serve: the stone, the plant, the ani- 
mal, every part of the plant and animal, has a pur- 
pose to serve ; it may be an end in itself, but it is 
also a means towards another end. The ear aids 
the eye, and the touch aids the ear and eye, and 
every member aids every other ; it is good in itself, 



334 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



and is doing good to others. But these inanimate 
objects perform their work unknowingly, uncon- 
sciously. It is different with angels and the spirits 
of just men made perfect. They perform their al- 
lotted work knowing what they are doing, and 
blessed in the doing of it. Every being in glory will 
be engaged in a work suited to his gifts and tastes. 
Here a seraph, which signifies " fire," will be en- 
gaged in a work of fervent love; here a cherub, 
which signifies " mind," will be engaged in a work 
of lofty intellect. And in the resurrection saints are 
to be as angels, and will doubtless have deeds of 
intelligence and deeds of love to perform. 

It doth not indeed appear what we shall be ; but 
this we know, that in the resurrection the souls of 
the saints shall be clothed with bodies. These 
bodies shall not be like the bodies which they wore 
on earth, liable to disease or weariness or lassitude 
or fatigue. " It is sown in weakness, it is raised in 
power ; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spirit- 
ual body. There is a natural body and a spiritual 
body." We read of bodies terrestrial and of bodies 
celestial, and in heaven our bodies shall be after a 
higher model, "spiritual" and " celestial." It doth not 
yet appear what we shall be ; but being planted in the 
likeness of his death, we shall also be planted in the 
likeness of his resurrection, and when he appears we 
shall be like him ; our bodies shall then be fashioned 
like unto his glorious body, which we may conceive 
to be the most sublimated, flexible, and obedient 



IN THE RESURRECTION SAINTS ARE AS ANGELS. 335 

form of matter or material agency. Modern science 
shows us how much material agency can do. Take, 
as an example, the electric telegraph, which is every 
day carrying messages past your place. A methodi- 
cal action is performed at one end of a wire, and in a 
few moments an intelligent communication is given 
at the other end, hundreds of miles away. It is a 
proof of the capacity of body. We know that our 
Lord's body after his resurrection appeared and dis- 
appeared, and acted no one could tell how. But in 
the resurrection our bodies will be like his, spiritual 
and celestial. They will therefore be fit ministers to 
the perfected spirit, — not, as here, hindrances at 
times, but always helps, and ready to fulfil the will 
of the spirit. Here the weariness of the spirit pro- 
ceeds very much from the weariness of the flesh ; but 
there the willing spirit will have a ready frame, and 
the unwearied spirit will use the unwearied body in 
unwearied work, and both, with the bloom and vigor 
of immortal youth, will be employed forever in the 
service of God. 

It doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but this 
we believe, that every faculty, every gift, every ac- 
quirement, every attainment, will be employed, — not 
idle or running to waste, but employed in the service 
of God, — of a wise God, who will allot to every one 
his suitable work, the work for which he is fitted, for 
which indeed he has been prepared by his original 
talents, his acquired accomplishments, and all the 
training through which he has been put in life and at 



336 



GOSPEL SERMONS. 



death • of a good God, who employs his creatures in 
doing good, and makes them happy in doing so ; so 
that all their work is doubly blessed, — blessed to 
the doer, and blessed also to those for whom it is 
done. 

How blessed are those who cherish the hope of 
reaching this place! The hope will purify them, 
even as God and heaven are pure. 



University Press : John Wilson & Son, Cambridge. 



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GIBEENE, Agnes. {Continued.) 

Muriel Bertram. i2mo $1.50 

The Sun, Moon, and Stars, izmo 1.50 

The World's Foundations. i2mo 1.50 

Jacob Witherby. i6mo 60 

Deeima's Promise. i2mo 1.25 

Twilight Talks. i6mo 75 

Kathleen. i2mo 1.50 

Old Umbrellas. i2mo 90 

Among the Stars. i2mo 150 

GILLETTE SERIES. By the author of "Win and Wear." 

6 vols. i6mo. In a box 4.50 

Dick, The Captain. i6mo 75 

Nan, The Missionary. i6mo 75 

Jack, Who Persevered. i6mo 75 

Bert, The Enterprising. I'Smo 75 

Bab; or, Faithfulness. i6mo 75 

Will; or, Honesty. i6mo 75 

Gran. A Story. i2mo 1.00 

Grandmamma's Recollections. i2mo 1.25 

GREEN" MOUNTAIN STORIES. By the author of " Win 

and Wear." 5 vols. i6mo. In a box 6.00 

Binding the Sheaves. i6mo 1.25 

Weighed in the Balance. i6mo 1.25 

Edged Tools. i6mo 1.25 

Girding on the Armor. 161110 1.25 

Robert Linton. i6mo 1.25 

HAMILTON, James, D.D. 

Life in Earnest. i8mo 50 

Happy Home. i6mo 75 

HAMLIN, Cyrus, D.D. Among the Turks. 121110 . . . 1.50 
HARDY", Robina F. Jock HaUiday. A Tale. 161110 . . . 1.00 

Havelock, Gen. Sir H., Life of. i6mo j.oo 

Helena's Household. A tale of Rome in the First Century. i2mo 1.50 
Hester Trueworthy's Royalty. By the author of " Win and 

Wear." i2mo 1.25 

His Mother's Book. 121110 1.00 

HOLT, Emily Sarah. 

The White Rose of Langley. 121110 1.50 

Imogen. i2mo 1.50 

Clare Avery. i2mo 1.50 

Lettice Eden. i2mo 1.50 

Margery's Son. i2mo 1.5.0 

The Maiden's Lodge. 121110 T.25 

The Way of the Cross. 161110 60 

IRVINE, C. E. 

The Sefton Boys. 161110 60 

David Elliott. A Story. i2mo 1.00 

Jack O'Lantern. i6mo 1.25 

Kate Kilborn. 181110 75 

KENNEDY", Grace. 

Anna Ross. i6mo 50 

Jessy Allan. i8mo 35 

LEATHES, Mrs. Stanley. Jill and Jack. i2mo .... 1. 00 
LEDGE SIDE SERIES. By the author of « Win and Wear." 

6 vols. i6mo. In a box 7.50 

Squire Downing's Heirs. i6mo 1.25 



10 



Sabbath-School Books Published by 



LEDGESIDE SERIES. {Continued.) 

Margaret Bussel's School. i6mo $1.25 

Busy Bees. i6mo 1.25 

Grandfather's Nell. i6mo L25 

Conant Farm. i6mo 1.25 

Down the Steps. i6mo 1.25 

Lestrange Family, The. i6mo 1.00 

Little Drops of Bain. i6mo 1.00 

Little Effie's Home. By author of " Bertie Lee." i6mo . . . 1.25 

Lonely Lily. i8mo 35 

Mabel's Experience. i6mo 75 

McCEINDELL, Miss B. The Convent. i8mo 7: 

MACDUFF, John B., D.D. 

The Great Journey. i8mo 50 

Tales of Warrior Judges. i6mo 1.00 

Woodcutter and Exiles. i6mo 1.00 

MACKAY, Mrs. Colonel. The Wycliffites. i6mo . . . 1.25 
MACLEOD, Alexander, D.D. 

The Wonderful Lamp. i6mo 1.00 

The Gentle Heart. i6mo 1.25 

MACLEOD, Norman, D.D. 

Gold Thread and Wee Davie. i6mo 75 

Wee Davie (separate). i8mo 35 

MABSH, Miss. 

Life of Captain Vicars. iSmo 60 

Light for the Line. iSmo 35 

A Hero in the Battle of Life. iSmo . , 50 

MABSHALL, Emma. 

Consideration for Others. iSmo 50 

Katie's Work. iSmo 50 

Little Primrose. iSmo 50 

Boger's Apprenticeship. iSmo 50 

Little Brothers and Sisters. i6mo 1.00 

Buby and Pearl, ismo 1.25 

The Story of John Marbeck. i2mo 1.00 

MARSTON, Louise. 

Bob and Mag. i6mo 75 

Bennie, the King's Little Servant. i6mo 50 

Cripple Jess. i2mo . 1.00 

Blind Nettie. i6mo 50 

Mr. Bartholomew's Little GirL i2mo ,1.00 

MATHEWS, Joanna H. 

The Bessie Books. 6 vols. nmo. In a box . ..... 7.50 

The Flowerets. 6 vols. iSmo. In a box 3.60 

The Kitty and Lulu Books. 6 vols. iSmo. In a box . 3.60 

BeUe Power's Locket. i6mo 1.00 

Dora's Motto. i6mo 1.00 

Mamie's Watchword. i6mo . « . , 1.00 

Nellie's Housekeeping. i6mo 1.00 

The New Scholars. i6mo 1.25 

Bosalie's Pet. i6mo 1.25 

Elsie's Santa Claus. i6mo 1.25 

The Broken Mallet. i6mo 1.25 

Blackberry Jam. i6mo 1.25 

MiUy's Whims. i6mo , 1.25 



Robert Carter and Brothers. 1 1 



MATHEWS, Julia A. 

Dare to Do Right Series. 5 vols. i6mo. In a box . , . $5.50 

Drayton Hall Series. 6 vols. i6ino. In a box 4.50 

Lilies or Thistledown. i6mo 1.25 

Uncle Joe's Thanksgiving. i6mo 1.25 

The Golden Ladder Series. 3 vols. i6mo. In a box . . 3.00 

Maud Summers, the Sightless. i8mo 75 

MEADE, L. T. 

David's Little Lad. i2mo 1.25 

Bel Marjory. i2mo 1.50 

Dot and her Treasures. i6mo 1.00 

The Children's Kingdom. i2mo .1.50 

Mother Herring's Chicken. i2mo 1.00 

Mia and Charlie. i6mo , . .75 

Moore's Forge. By the author of " Win and Wear." i6mo . . . 1.25 

Morag. A Tale of the Highlands of Scotland. i6mo 1.25 

Near Home. i6mo 75 

Nell's Mission. i6mo 50 

NEWTON, Richard, D.D. 

The Best Things. i6mo 1.25 

The King's Highway. i6mo 1.25 

Bible Blessings. i6mo 1.25 

The Great Pilot. i6mo 1.25 

Bible Jewels. i6mo , ... 1.25 

Bible Wonders. i6mo 1.25 

Leaves from the Tree of Life. i6mo 1.25 

Giants and Wonderful Things. i6mo 1.25 

The King in his Beauty. i2mo 1.25 

Pebbles from the Brook. i6mo 1.25 

NEWTON, Rev. Wm. Wilberforce. 

Little and Wise. i6mo 1.25 

The Wicket Gate. i6mo 1.25 

The Interpreter's House. i6mo 1.25 

Great Heart. i6mo 1.25 

Old David's Lassie. i6mo 60 

Passing Clouds. i6rao 75 



PAYNE, Annie MitcheU. 

The Cash Boy's Trust. i6nio 1.00 

Rhoda's Corner. i6mo L25 

The Odd One. iomo L25 

Outside the Walls. i2mo i.co 

PEEP OP DAY LIBRARY. 8 vols. i8mo. In a box . . 4.50 

Plow to the Pulpit. An Autobiography. i6mo 60 

POLLARD, M. M. His Grandchild. i6mo i.oo 

PRICHARD, Miss S. J. 

Rose Marbury. A Tale. i6mo 1.25 

Aunt Saidee's Cow. nmo 1.00 

RICHMOND, Legh. Annals of the Poor. i8mo 60 

RIPLEY, M. A. Paull. Hidden Homes ; or, The Chil- 
dren's Discoveries. i2mo 1 .00 

Robert Graham's Promise. By the author of " Win and Wear." 1.25 

Rose Dunbar's Mistake. i2mo . 1 c Q 

SEYMOUR, M. Charlie's Success. i2mo loo 

SHAW, Catharine. 

Nellie Arundel. i2mo I#2 c 

In the Sunlight. i2mo I 2 c 

Hilda. I2IUO I or 



12 Robert Carter and Brothers. 



SHAW, Catharine. {Continued.) 

Only a Cousin. 121110 $1.25 

Out in the Storm. 161110 50 

Aliek's Hero. 121110 1.25 

Left to Ourselves. 121110 1.00 

Fathoms Deep. 1 21110 . . . 1.25 

On the Cliff. 121110 1.25 

Dickie's Attic. 121110 1.25 

Dickie's Secret. 121110 1.25 

SMITH, Jessie W. Both Sides. A Story. 161110 50 

STEBBING, Grace. See for Yourself. 161110 50 

STEVENSON, Kev. W. P. Praying and "W orking. 161110 1.00 

Stories of the Ocean. i8mo 50 

Tales from English History. i6mo 1.00 

Tales of Travellers. i6mo 1.00 

Teddy's Dream. i8mo .50 

The Two Vocations. By the author of " Schonberg Cotta." i6mo 1.00 

Three Months under the Snow. x8mo 50 

TOMLINSON, L. J. A Little Wild Flower. i6mo . . .60 

Truth is Always Best. i8mo 35 

Turning a New Leaf . By the author of " Win and Wear." i6mo 1.25 
WALTON, Mrs. O. F. 

Saved at Sea. i6mo 40 

A Peep Behind the Scenes. i6mo . . 1.00 

Was I Right? i6mo 1.00 

Olive's Story. i6mo 75 

Nobody Loves Me. i8mo 50 

Nobody Loves Me and Olive's Story. In cne vol. 161110 1.00 
Shadows : Scenes and Incidents in the Life of an Old Arm- 
chair. i6mo . . 1. 00 

WARNER, Miss Anna B. 

Cross Corners. 121110 1.50 

Blue Flag and Cloth of Gold. i6mo 1.25 

Tired Church Members. iSmo 50 

A Bag of Stories. i6mo 75 

The Shoes of Peace. i8mo 75 

Ellen Montgomery's Book-Shelf. 5 vols. 161110. In a box 5.00 
WARNER, Miss Susan. 

My Desire. i2mo » 1.50 

Nobody. i2mo 1.50 

Stephen, M. D. i2ino 1.50 

Walks from Eden. i6nio 1.50 

House of Israel. i6mo 1.50 

Kingdom of Judah. i6mo 1.50 

Broken Walls of Jerusalem. i6mo « 1 25 

Opportunities. i2mo 1.25 

The Say and Do Series. 6 vols. i6mo. In a box . . . 7.50 
WELLS, Rev. James., M.A. 

Bible Echoes. i6mo 1.25 

Bible Children. i6mo 1.25 

Bible Images. 121110 1.25 

Win and Wear. i6mo 1.25 

WINCHESTER, M. E. 

The Cabin on the Beach. i2mo 1.50 

Lost Maggie. i6mo 50 

WOODS, Rev. Edgar. Golden Apples. i6mo . => . . . 1.00 



« 132 82 1 





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